Mertens and Zhang Stage Epic Comeback in Melbourne
From the edge of defeat, Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai forged a resilient path to the Australian Open women’s doubles title, blending grit and precision on the hard courts of Melbourne Park.
In the charged atmosphere of Rod Laver Arena, Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai turned a dire first-set deficit into a defining victory, capturing the Australian Open women’s doubles crown against Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic. Trailing 3-0 and then 4-1, the pair rallied with deep crosscourt returns and sharp volleys to force a tiebreak, ultimately prevailing 7-6 (4), 6-4. This triumph not only secured Mertens’ return to the No. 1 doubles ranking but also amplified the crowd’s roar as they withstood a late surge in the second set.
Rallying through early pressure
Mertens, currently ranked No. 6 in doubles after her Wimbledon title last year with Veronika Kudermetova, absorbed the initial onslaught where Danilina and Krunic’s aggressive net approaches pinned them deep. Zhang’s steady baseline game steadied the ship, her heavy topspin forehands landing inside-out to disrupt the opponents’ rhythm on the fast hard courts. As they clawed back, the Belgian’s one–two punch of serve and return began to click, saving set points with low slices that forced errors and shifting the momentum under the arena’s glare.
The psychological edge sharpened in that tiebreak, where precise down-the-line passing shots from Zhang neutralized Krunic‘s poaching. Mertens' experience from prior Melbourne victories in 2021 and 2024 fueled their resolve, turning defensive lobs into offensive weapons. This set’s turnaround echoed the pair’s season-long adaptations to hard-court pace, where every point carried the weight of Mertens’ push for her 40th week at No. 1—a spot guaranteed before the final.
Stemming the second-set fightback
Storming to a 5-0 lead in the second, Mertens and Zhang dominated with inside-in forehands that exploited the surface’s bounce, breaking serve twice on deep returns. But Danilina and Krunic countered fiercely, stringing four straight games with crosscourt underspin backhands that tested their focus amid rising tension. Zhang’s poise, drawn from her 2019 Australian Open and 2021 U.S. Open triumphs, proved crucial; she held with a volley winner after a tense deuce, closing 6-4 as the crowd erupted.
This marked Mertens’ sixth Grand Slam doubles title and Zhang’s third, a testament to their tactical synergy against varied opponents. The hard courts rewarded their adjusted 1–2 patterns, where serves set up forehand winners, contrasting the slower rallies of other surfaces. As the final point sealed it, the victory lifted the seasonal pressures both had navigated, setting a confident tone for the tour ahead.
Ripples across Melbourne’s doubles scene
Beyond the women’s final, the men’s doubles showdown loomed with American Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski of Britain facing the Australian duo of Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans. Kubler, leveraging his 14-3 record at home, brought inside-out firepower suited to the courts’ speed, while the newcomers’ Adelaide semifinal run hinted at bold strategies. Their fresh pairing injected unpredictability into a draw defined by home edges and quick adjustments.
The mixed doubles had already crowned Australians Olivia Gadecki and John Peers on Friday, their 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 win over France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard marking consecutive titles unseen since 1989. Peers’ net dominance and Gadecki’s groundstrokes thrived in super-tiebreak pressure, mirroring the women’s grit. These results underscore a doubles fortnight of comebacks and surface mastery, priming the circuit for more hard-court battles.