All-Australian mixed doubles final locked in as local pairings progress to decider
Updated . First published at
The mixed doubles final at the Australian Open will be an all-Australian affair after two local pairings booked places in the decider.
In the first semi final on Margaret Court Arena, wildcards Olivia Gadecki and John Peers earned their spot in the final after defeating New Zealand duo Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-4.
In one hour and 11 minutes, the Australians took control of their match-up to oust the No.2 seeds.
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Then, in the second semi, comrades and fellow wildcards John-Patrick Smith and Kim Birrell also triumphed in straight sets with a 7-6(7), 6-2 victory over their British opponents to seal an All-Australian finale.
In the final, the pairs will be vying to become the first local team to win the mixed doubles title since Matt Ebden and Jarmila Wolfe (nee Gajdosova) in 2013 — a slice of history that is now guaranteed.
Mixed doubles pair Olivia Gadecki and John Peers embrace after advancing to the final at the Australian Open. Nine
Both Peers and Gadecki were dominant on serve during the straight-sets victory, winning 81 per cent of points on their first serve.
This tournament marks the first time the duo have teamed up to play together.
While Peers, 36, won bronze in the mixed doubles competition alongside Ash Barty at Tokyo 2020 and the 2022 US Open mixed doubles title with Storm Sanders, the decider at Melbourne Park will be Gadecki's first grand slam final.
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Gadecki, 22, was the sole Australian woman to directly qualify for the main draw at Melbourne Park after cracking the WTA top 100 for the first time last year.
Peers also clinched the men's doubles title Down Under in 2017 and is the reigning gold medallist in the men's doubles from Paris 2024
Similarly, the final will be Birrell's first tilt at a grand slam title while Smith was mixed doubles runner-up in 2019 when he partnered with Astra Sharma.
Birrell and Smith encountered a few hiccups in the semi-final clash but held their nerve in the big moments to come out on top in one hour and 22 minutes.
The winning pair will split $175,000 in prize money while the runners-up will share $97,750.
