In the Australian Open arena, Chinese tennis star Zhang Shuai once again became the focus of attention. In the first round of women's doubles, Zhang Shuai and her partner Meladonovic fought hard and turned the tide with a score of 5-7/6-3/7-5 against the Kessler/Russ combination, successfully advancing to the second round. It is worth noting that Zhang Shuai also defeated Kessler in the women's singles court, achieving a double kill in both singles and doubles.
Zhang Shuai currently ranks 26th in the world in women's doubles, and she has achieved remarkable results on the doubles court. She won the women's doubles championship trophy twice at the Australian Open in 2019 and the US Open in 2021, and also won the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022. This time at the Australian Open, Zhang Shuai teamed up with Meladonovic as the No. 9 seed in the tournament. They made it all the way to the final at last year's US Open and won the runner-up, and this is their first time partnering again after the US Open.
The game was full of ups and downs. In the first set, Zhang Shuai's team broke serve in the third game to take the lead, but their opponents were not to be underestimated and broke back in the fourth game. The scores were close, and in the twelfth game, Zhang Shuai's team suffered a crucial break and eventually lost the first set 5-7.
However, Zhang Shuai and Meladonovic did not lose heart, and they adjusted their state in time in the second set. In the seventh game, they successfully broke serve to lead 4-3. The two, who were greatly boosted by morale, broke serve again in the ninth game and took the second set 6-3, leveling the big score.
The decisive set was even more exciting. In the seventh and eighth games, both sides broke each other, with the score coming to 4-4. In the eleventh game, Zhang Shuai's team faced great pressure, with their opponents getting five break points. At a critical moment, the two relied on their tenacious fighting spirit and excellent performance to save five break points and hold serve with difficulty, leading 6-5. In the twelfth game, Zhang Shuai's team seized the opportunity to break serve again, winning the decisive set 7-5 and thus reversing the victory with a big score of 2-1.
This tough battle lasted for 2 hours and 44 minutes, and Zhang Shuai's team also performed well in terms of data. Their first serve percentage was as high as 79%, their first serve winning rate was 62%, and they hit a total of 31 winners, successfully converting 5 out of 9 break points. With this victory, the two earned 130 points and a prize of 58,000 Australian dollars, and Zhang Shuai's immediate ranking also reached No. 25.
Coincidentally, Kessler appeared again among Zhang Shuai's opponents. In the first round of singles, Kessler lost to Zhang Shuai with a score of 3-6, 4-6, helping Zhang Shuai end her losing streak in Grand Slam women's singles. Now meeting again in the women's doubles court, Zhang Shuai once again defeated the combination led by Kessler.
We look forward to Zhang Shuai and Meladonovic continuing to shine in the upcoming Australian Open women's doubles matches and bringing more wonderful games to the fans!