As several Australians have progressed deep into the second week at Wimbledon doubles events, another Aussie has watched from her home with interest.
Casey Dellacqua, a former doubles world No.3 who reached the Wimbledon women’s doubles final in 2013 with Ash Barty, knows exactly how it will feel when Storm Hunter and Marc Polmans take the walk to Centre Court for their mixed doubles final on Thursday.
And she’s also thrilled to see Thanasi Kokkinakis into the men’s doubles semifinals, the continuation of an unlikely run which began when he and partner Aleksandar Kovacevic – playing together for the first time – entered the draw as alternates and saved three match points in the opening round.
“The funny thing is we often see this happen more often than we think, where two players will come together with little expectation and them obviously being an alternate pair, not even knowing if they're going to get in the draw, come out with nothing to lose,” Dellacqua told tennis.com.au.
“I think for Thanasi, in regards to his body, doubles is great because he's only serving once in every four games; that will help his injuries that he's had over the last 12 months or so.
“Thanasi is a really good doubles player. He's won the Australian Open before. He's very talented, he's got great hands and he knows his way around [the doubles court]. He actually understands the court geometry very well, I feel.
“So yeah, I'm not surprised that we're seeing him into the semifinals and hopefully they can continue the run.”
After beating three consecutive seeded teams, including AO 2026 champions Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski, Kokkinakis and Kovacevic next face No.1 seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, two-time Slam champions who triumphed at Wimbledon in 2024.
Kokkinakis is building quite the doubles resume. Before winning the Australian Open and Atlanta in 2022 with Nick Kyrgios, he also won the 2017 Brisbane International with Jordan Thompson and finished runner-up with Taylor Fritz in Los Cabos in 2018.
Another deep Grand Slam run, with a new partner in Kovacevic, is something Dellacqua believes highlights his talent in the tandem game.
“As Australians, we obviously play a lot of doubles growing up as juniors. It's a big part of our landscape here in Australia,” she said. “And coming through, Thanasi played a lot of doubles.
“I think the fact that he's won with multiple partners is a big kudos to him too. Because a lot of teams can have success with the same person, but then when they go and play with other partners [they might not].
“I've also seen him play, I think, both sides of the court before. He's great at the net, he's got a great overhead. He's got some real doubles prowess behind him, and I really hope that he can keep this run going.”
Kokkinakis plays second on No.1 Court on Thursday’s order of play at Wimbledon, before Hunter and Polmans close the Centre Court schedule in the mixed doubles final against Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Arevalo.
WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY: Thursday 9 June schedule
This is Hunter’s third Grand Slam doubles final, and second at Wimbledon, after she finished runner-up in the 2023 women’s final alongside Elise Mertens. She won her first, at the 2022 US Open, with John Peers in mixed doubles. It’s Polmans’ second, after he progressed to the AO 2026 men’s doubles final with Jason Kubler.
“I think this is a massive moment,” Dellacqua said. “To win any major is an incredible feat, but I think to win at Wimbledon is something pretty special.
“So I think for Storm and Marc to be in the final, to have that opportunity to win a major at Wimbledon, is something absolutely incredible that they're going to want to grab with both hands.
“I think the thing that they have to do well, and what they've done well throughout each of their matches, is serve really well. I looked through most of their matches and they're serving up around 65 per cent of first serves in and winning up around 70 to 75 per cent of those points. And then it's just allowing them to really nail down on their returns.
“Obviously, they're both not scared of being at the net and on grass at Wimbledon, that is such an advantage for them to be able to mark their presence at the net, and that just can be so intimidating for opponents.
“Hopefully, they can keep it going for one more match.”
Hunter and Polmans are contesting just their fourth event together, their previous best run an Australian Open semifinal in 2021.
They could become the first all-Australian pair to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles since Elizabeth Smylie and John Fitzgerald in 1991, plus the second Aussie pairing to win a major mixed doubles title this year after Olivia Gadecki and Peers at the AO.
Dellacqua believes both will benefit from the experience of having been major finalists before and that Hunter in particular – as a Wimbledon finalist, Grand Slam champion and former doubles No.1 – had a proven track record of stepping up in the biggest moments, another example being her excellent Billie Jean King Cup record.
Her advice? Enjoy the moment and go after it.
“I lost seven major finals, so I lost a lot of major finals, but I think the Wimbledon one particularly hurt because it was Wimbledon, and I think having been able to finish my career saying you'd won a Wimbledon title would have been something pretty special,” Dellacqua said.
“I don't have regrets, but there's definitely moments in that match that I remember thinking, ‘oh, I just wish we did this different’.
“I think for these players going out there and just leaving it all out there with no regrets, whether that's on a second serve thinking, ‘I'm going to serve volley because that's the best play’ and not holding back, just leaving it all out there in a sense of knowing what you need to do.
“Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't, but be really strong with your conviction about how you're going to go out there and play. Because if you do that and you lose, so be it.
“They've got to leave it all out there, which I know they will.”
You can watch Wimbledon on the channels of the Nine Network and Stan Sport.