MELBOURNE: In the first championship match between two top-four-seeded teams at Melbourne Park in 23 years, Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zielinski emerged triumphant in the mixed doubles event.
The No.3 seeds fought past second seeds American Desirae Krawczyk and Brit Neal Skupski, 6-7(5-7), 6-4, 11-9 in an enthralling and high-quality final at Rod Laver Arena.
Hsieh and Zielinski saved a championship point in a high-pressure match tiebreak, before sealing victory in just under two hours.
It is a first major mixed doubles title for both 38-year-old Hsieh and 27-year-old Zielinski, who fought back from a 2-4 deficit in the second set and then almost squandered a 7-4 advantage in a thrilling match tiebreak, Aus Open reports.
Their victory sees Hsieh become the first player from Chinese Taipei to win an Australian Open mixed doubles title, while Zielinski is the first Polish player in history to capture a major mixed doubles crown.
Hsieh has the chance to win another Australian Open title on Sunday, when she competes in the women’s doubles final alongside Belgium’s Elise Mertens.