Local duo Olivia Gadecki and John Peers surged back to defeat French pair Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard in the Australian Open mixed doubles final, taking Friday’s early afternoon clash via a match tiebreak 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 in 93 minutes.
The Australians – who defended their title – became the first team to retain the mixed doubles trophy at Melbourne Park since Jana Novotna and Jim Pugh backed up in 1989.
They struggled to settle in a first set against the French pairing led by Mladenovic, the former women’s doubles world No 1 and a top 10 singles player.
But a single break in the second set was enough to square the contest, and in the match tiebreak they overcame a 5-7 deficit to take the title on their second match point.
Gadecki thanked Peers afterwards “for wanting to play with me again this year”.
“Thank you so much for letting me share the court with you, to hold the trophy again this year is incredible,” she said. “I knew we could do it, but I didn’t think we could really do it, if you know what I mean.”
In truth, the contribution of the 23-year-old – who lost in singles qualifying at Melbourne Park this year – was crucial in the pair’s comeback, as she forced an error from Guinard at the net then won two points on serve to take the lead in the match tiebreak.
But it was Peers who added the final touches, hitting a winner down the line to set up championship points, then firing a kick serve high and wide to Guinard. The Frenchman could only find the net, as the Australians embraced to celebrate.
“Olivia, I’m sort of speechless,” Peers said. “Thank you for playing with me again, we had great fun this week and somehow snuck away with this one, but it’s been so much fun sharing the court with you.”
The result looked unlikely after the pair struggled for consistency in a first set that saw as many breaks as there were holds under the blinding midday sun.
But in the second set Gadecki hit a winner through Guinard at the net to break for 3-1, and the Australians levelled the match without facing a break point.
The French duo were close to victory in the 10-point match tiebreak, having taken a 7-5 lead. Yet the Australians rattled off five points in a row to secure an unlikely triumph and close to $200,000 in prize money.
