Former Stirling scholar to play Wimbledon quarter finals
Former University of Stirling tennis scholar Maia Lumsden and partner Naiktha Bains have made the quarter finals at Wimbledon with a third successive win in the Ladies' Doubles.
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Former University of Stirling tennis scholar Maia Lumsden and partner Naiktha Bains have made the quarter finals at Wimbledon with a third successive win in the Ladies' Doubles.
The British pair beat Slovakia's Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova 2-1 (6-3, 6-7, 6-3) in a hard fought encounter on Monday afternoon.
They will now face either third seeds Storm Hunter, of Australia, and Elise Mertens, of Belgium, or Miriam Kolodziejova and Marketa Vondrousova, both of the Czech Republic, in the last eight.
Lumsden and Bains' phenomenal run comes on the back of a late wildcard entry to the tournament.
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Head of Performance Sport, University of Stirling
Maia's work ethic and talent was evident from the moment she joined the high performance tennis programme at the University of Stirling, and it's no coincidence that she is now achieving great things at this level.
David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: "Well done Maia and Naiktha on making the quarter finals of Wimbledon.
"Maia's work ethic and talent was evident from the moment she joined the high performance tennis programme at the University of Stirling, and it's no coincidence that she is now achieving great things at this level.
"This is a fantastic achievement and the whole of campus can't wait to cheer them on in the next round."
Graduate
Lumsden, 25, from Bearsden, near Glasgow, studied at Stirling between 2016 and 2021, and graduated last year with a BA Sports Studies. Her success at SW19 this year is all the more impressive given she was sidelined for 18 months by long COVID and had understandable concerns about whether she would be able to play professionally again.
In their third round match, Lumsden and Bains started well - breaking their opponents' serve in the eighth game, giving them a 6-3 first set win after just 30 minutes.
Despite breaking Hruncakova and Mihalikova early in set two, the Slovaks fought back and took it to a tie break, which they went on to win.
In the deciding set, the British pair broke their opponents' serve in the fourth game to give them a 3-1 lead, and battled back from four break points in the seventh to retain their 5-2 advantage. Lumsden served in the final set and saw the game over the line, securing a hard earned victory after two hours 36 minutes on court.
The quarter final matches will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
Impressive
The victory is the latest impressive performance in a successful Wimbledon campaign for Lumsden and Bains.
They knocked out 11th seeds Anna Danilina, of Kazakhstan, and Yifan Xu, of China, in a dramatic first round encounter on Thursday. After splitting the first two sets, they went six games all in the third and the match was decided by a tie break. The Brits fought back from 6-1 down in the tiebreak to nine all, with Lumsden delivering a stunning cross court effort to give them the lead, before they secured the match - winning 11-9. They won the game 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.
The British pair then beat Magda Linette, of Poland, and Bernarda Pera, of the USA, in straight sets on Sunday afternoon. The match finished 6-4, 6-4.
Jonny O'Mara and Gordon Reid
Former Stirling student Jonny O'Mara and partner Olivia Nicholls also made the quarter finals of the Mixed Doubles with a second-round win over fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof (Netherlands) and Leylah Fernandez (Canada) on Monday. They will play fifth seeds Matthew Ebdon and Ellen Perez, both of Australia, in Tuesday's quarter final.
O'Mara and Nicholls beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin, of France, and Kirsten Flipkens, of Belgium, in the first round.
However, O'Mara and Gentlemen's Doubles partner Liam Broady are out after being defeated by Francisco Cabral, of Portugal, and Rafael Matos, of Brazil, in the first round of the Men's Doubles.
Former Stirling student Gordon Reid will also compete at Wimbledon this week - in the wheelchair singles and doubles, with the draws set to take place on Tuesday.