Gadecki and Peers Claim Repeat Mixed Glory in Melbourne
Facing mounting pressure on home courts, Olivia Gadecki and John Peers battled back from an early deficit to defend their Australian Open mixed doubles title, etching their names into history with a gritty three-set win.
In the charged atmosphere of Rod Laver Arena, Olivia Gadecki and John Peers delivered a masterclass in resilience on Friday at the Australian Open. The defending champions, carrying the weight of national expectations, outlasted Manuel Guinard and Kristina Mladenovic in a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 thriller to secure back-to-back mixed doubles titles. This victory marks them as the first team to achieve consecutive wins at Melbourne Park since Jana Novotna and Jim Pugh in 1988-89, and the first Australians to do so since Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher in 1963-64.
The wild card duo dropped serve three times in the opening set, allowing the French pair to seize control with sharp returns and net poaching. Gadecki’s heavy topspin forehands occasionally misfired on crosscourt rallies, while Peers found the hard court’s pace testing his volleys against precise lobs. Yet the Melbourne crowd’s unwavering support—flags waving, chants building—kept the fire alive, turning the arena into a cauldron of anticipation.
“I don’t quite know where to start. I can’t believe we are in this position right now,” said Gadecki at the trophy ceremony. “First of all, I’d like to thank our opponents for such a great match. You guys had such an amazing week, so congrats. Peersy, [thanks] for wanting to play with me again this year. Thank you so much for letting me share the court with you. To hold the trophy again this year is incredible. “I knew we could do it, but I didn’t think we could really do it, if you know what I mean!”
Peers said to Gadecki: “I’m sort of speechless. Thank you for playing with me again this week, and somehow we sort of snuck away with this one. It’s been so much fun sharing the court with you and enjoying every moment out here.”
Early stumbles spark tactical shift
The first set’s loss exposed cracks in their baseline exchanges, as Guinard and Mladenovic exploited the hard court’s true bounce with flat groundstrokes and underspin slices that skimmed low. Peers, leveraging his veteran instincts from years on the doubles circuit, called for a quicker transition to the net during changeovers, urging Gadecki to vary her returns with more inside-out angles. This adjustment stemmed from their pre-tournament prep on Melbourne’s unforgiving surfaces, where they drilled one–two combinations to counter lefty-righty pairings like their opponents’.
By late in the set, subtle changes emerged: Gadecki began dipping her topspin lobs deeper, forcing Mladenovic to stretch and opening lanes for Peers’ crosscourt volleys. The crowd sensed the pivot, their murmurs giving way to rhythmic claps that synced with the duo’s growing rhythm. It was a mental recalibration as much as a technical one, drawing on Peers’ experience to steady nerves amid the home-soil glare.
Second set break ignites momentum
Regaining composure, Gadecki and Peers struck first in the second set, breaking in the fourth game through a sequence of wide serves that pulled Mladenovic wide, followed by down-the-line passes that clipped the line. The hard court’s speed amplified their aggression, with Peers poaching effectively to cut off Guinard’s straight-set approaches. This lone break,according to Stats, shifted the psychological balance, as the Australians held firm through extended deuce points, their returns forcing unforced errors from the tiring French side.
Gadecki’s evolution shone here, her WTA-honed footwork allowing sharper net rushes that disrupted the opponents’ synergy. The arena’s energy peaked with each winner, the green-and-gold flags blurring in a sea of motion. Peers’ steady presence at the net turned potential vulnerabilities into strengths, mirroring his path through a season balancing singles support with doubles commitments.
Tiebreak surge cements historic repeat
The match tie-break turned into a nerve-shredding affair, with Guinard and Mladenovic jumping to a 7-5 lead on a mix of drop shots and overhead winners. But Gadecki and Peers responded with ferocious intensity, winning five of the final six points through tightened net coverage and Gadecki’s decisive overhead smashes. Peers’ down-the-line serves set up the clinchers, his fist pumps syncing with the crowd’s eruption as they edged 10-8.
This triumph adds a third major mixed doubles title for Peers, following his 2022 US Open win alongside Storm Sanders, while it marks Gadecki’s second Grand Slam after last year’s Melbourne Park success with him. Their wild card run, forged in the Australian summer’s heat, highlights how surface savvy—leveraging the hard court’s grip for angled inside-in forehands—can overcome rankings edges. As confetti rained down, the pair’s shared embrace hinted at bolder horizons, perhaps chasing a calendar-year sweep across the Slams’ varied terrains. For more on the match, read the full recap on the ATP Tour site.
