MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australians Olivia Gadecki and John Peers battled back from a set down to defeat compatriots Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith 3-6 6-4 10-6 in the mixed doubles final at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Birrell and Smith raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set on Rod Laver Arena and while they were pegged back to 5-2 they kept their cool to close out it out in 34 minutes.
Gadecki and Peers stepped up a gear to level the contest in a tight second set before going on to win the 10-point tiebreaker.
While it was Gadecki’s first mixed doubles title at a Grand Slam, Peers picked up his second having won the 2022 U.S. Open in the category. The 36-year-old also won men’s doubles gold at the Paris Olympics with compatriot Matthew Ebden and the 2017 Australian Open alongside Finn Henri Kontinen.
Saturday’s match was the first all-Australian final at the tournament in the Open-era and the first since 1967. It also marks the 14th edition of the Australian Open where a home player was crowned champion in at least one category.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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