A NINE-time Grand Slam titles winner, you would have thought Jordanne Whiley had experienced most things in her career to date.

But the Halesowen wheelchair tennis star conceded she had been in unfamiliar territory despite booking her spot in yet another Wimbledon final on Friday.

The 25-year-old, who lost in the singles event 24 hours earlier, teamed up with familiar partner Yui Kamiji yesterday to kick start their women’s doubles title defence.

The duo have lifted the trophy for the past three years but they saw their preparations disrupted when the identity of their opponents changed at the last minute and their match was subsequently delayed.

Jiske Griffioen – one half of the top seeded pairing, and beaten finalist last year – was forced to withdraw for personal issues, leaving American Dana Mathewson to come in to partner Aniek Van Koot.

And while Whiley, who spent eight months out injured before Wimbledon, and Kamiji held their nerve to eventually win 6-4 6-4 in an hour and 23 minutes, the former admitted the circumstances had made making the final even more significant.

“This final, for me, feels more special than all of the others because I’ve had eight months out,” she said. “I’ve had injury, illness, the change up today and getting your head around that.

“I think the doubles change was down to an illness. It was all a bit sudden.

“They changed the schedule as well, we were due to play next on and then we had to wait another 90 minutes to play. I was a bit nervous and felt a bit of pressure to refocus because of all the changes.

“We’re also playing a different pair in the final, we’re used to playing Jiske and Aniek. It would show everyone that we are versatile and we can do it against anyone.

“But it’s still a long way away, we’re only in the final, we haven’t won it yet but we’ll give it our best shot.”

Whiley and Kamiji will now played second seeds Marjolein Buis and Diede De Groot in the final after the latter overcame fellow Brit Lucy Shuker and Sabine Ellerbrook in the other semi-final.

And Whiley is hoping for smoother preparations before Sunday’s final on Court 3 as she looks to win her tenth Grand Slam title and equal the number held by Peter Norfolk.

“I don’t think that semi-final was our best performance. In the first set I was a bit nervous and my body was a bit stiff,” she added.

“And then in the second set it switched a bit and Yui lost a bit of energy.

“But we are really good friends and we have a good connection so we find it really easy to get each other up and get the blood pumping again.”

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