01/30/26 12:03:00
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01/29 23:58 CST Olivia Gadecki and John Peers repeat as Australian Open mixed
doubles champions
Olivia Gadecki and John Peers repeat as Australian Open mixed doubles champions
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) --- Olivia Gadecki and John Peers became the first
team to win consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles titles since 1989 after
beating the French pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard 4-6, 6-3,
10-8 on Friday.
The Australians trailed 7-5 in the final-set tiebreaker before coming back to
lead 9-7. On match point and with Peers serving, Guinard hit a backhand into
the net to clinch victory for the home players at Rod Laver Arena.
Wild-card entries Gadecki and Peers were the first reigning Australian Open
mixed doubles champions to return to the final the following year since
Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor in 2015. The 23-year-old Gadecki was born 13 years
after Jim Pugh and Jana Novotna went back to back in 1988 and 1989.
"Sort of a bit shocked," Peers said. "That could have gone either way. Just
sort of happy that we kept sticking with it . . . it was on a knife's edge."
The French team won the opening set on its second set point when Peers hit a
shot wide, three games after Mladenovic double-faulted on set point and the
Australian team broke to keep the set alive.
In the second set, Gadecki and Peers went ahead 3-1 on a service break and then
held to take a 4-1 lead, winning 13 of 15 points to put them in control of the
set and level the match.
Mladenovic was trying to win her fourth Grand Slam mixed doubles title --- she
won Wimbledon in 2013 and the Australian Open in 2014 with Nestor and the 2022
Australian Open mixed doubles title with Ivan Dodig. She also has six Grand
Slam women's doubles titles.
"Winning a Grand Slam once is very difficult but defending it is even harder
... big congrats to you!" Mladenovic said to Gadecki and Peers.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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