Melbourne, January 28, 2024, The Europe Today: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei and Belgium’s Elise Mertens secured the women’s doubles crown at the Australian Open on Sunday, displaying a dominant performance with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over the Latvian-Ukrainian pair Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok.
This triumph marked the second women’s Grand Slam doubles title for the second-seeded duo, following their Wimbledon victory in 2021. Notably, Hsieh, at 38, became the second-oldest woman ever to claim a Grand Slam doubles title, with Lisa Raymond holding the record.
Despite Hsieh’s recent exit from the singles competition, she concluded her Australian Open campaign on a high note by securing her second title Down Under. The pair also emerged victorious in the mixed doubles final on Friday.
The match’s momentum favored Hsieh and Mertens from the start, as they secured an early break in the third game, maintaining control to clinch the first set convincingly. The second set proved to be a tighter contest, with Ostapenko and Kichenok staging a comeback with an early service break. However, Hsieh and Mertens regrouped, breaking back to level at 2-2 and securing a crucial 5-3 lead.
While facing some resistance from their opponents, the second seeds maintained their composure. Although Ostapenko and Kichenok leveled the set at 5-5, Hsieh and Mertens exhibited resilience, breaking for a third time to seal the victory on their first championship point.
After the match, Mertens expressed her appreciation, saying, “Congratulations girls for playing a great match. The second set was really close, and we had to fight really hard today. Thanks, everyone, for coming out.”
This win marked Hsieh’s seventh major women’s doubles crown, adding to her four Wimbledon titles and two at Roland Garros, while elevating Mertens’ Grand Slam women’s doubles title count to four.
