Heartbreak for Aussie duo as late title charge falls short in men's doubles final

A late fightback from the Aussie pair of Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans wasn't enough as they went down in straight sets in the Australian Open men's doubles final.

In their first grand slam event as a team, Brit Neal Skupski and American Christian Harrison emerged victorious 7-6(4), 6-4.

It was Harrison's first grand slam title and Skupski's fourth in doubles and mixed doubles, though his first outside Wimbledon.

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The partnership is remarkably fresh, as the pair started playing together only two weeks ago in Adelaide after training for a week together in December.

"We obviously started playing together in Adelaide two weeks ago," Skupski said.

"We didn't know, obviously, how it would go. It seems to be going pretty well so far."

With the roof closed at Rod Laver Arena due to rain, the match began at a fast pace under the lights and proved to be an entertaining affair, as the opening set went with serve until Harrison and Skupski broke for a 4-2 lead.

But with the raucous Australian fans firmly behind them, Kubler and Polmans - wearing his trademark legionnaire hat - broke Harrison's serve and consolidated it to level the set at 5-5 before forcing a tiebreak.

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They were neck-and-neck in the tiebreak at 4-4 until the British-American duo inched ahead and took the opening set when Skupski smashed an emphatic overhead shot at the net to silence the home fans.

In the second set, Harrison and Skupski broke Polmans' serve early for a 3-1 advantage, and they did not look back despite a determined fightback from the Australian pair.

The Anglo-American pair made it 5-3 on Skupski's serve when Harrison smashed a volley at the net to put the pressure back on the Australians, who managed to keep them at bay by saving a championship point on serve.

But Harrison proved indomitable at the baseline on his own serve as they served for the title.

Although they failed to convert another championship point, they sealed the title at the third time of asking when the American fired an ace down the middle.

For Kubler, it caps off a frenetic few weeks at Melbourne Park. He and fiancée Maddison Inglis got engaged late last year, before the latter put together a dream run to the round of 16 in the women's singles draw.

"I forgot to mention Maddie last time I made one of these speeches. So Maddie, thank you so much for everything you do for me," Kubler said.

"You obviously had an unbelievable run here, and I was just so happy to see all these great things happening to you. You honestly deserve it. Let's keep this going."

Kubler went on to give a little plug for his mate and playing partner, who is selling his trademark hats.

"Hey, they're great hats, great sun protection ..." he said with a laugh.

He said their rivals were "on fire".

The victory brings another grand slam trophy into the Harrison household after his elder brother Ryan, also his coach, won the Roland-Garros doubles title in 2017.

"My parents are back home, and I remember I was with them when I watched my brother win the French Open on TV, and they were emotional wrecks. So I know they're probably doing the same right now," Harrison said.

"Thanks to my partner, without you, it's not possible. I was so excited to just get on the court with you. In some tight moments, I knew your experience was going to help pay off in the end, and it did.

"It was fun to battle in this match together."