In the third round of the Australian Open women's doubles competition that concluded on January 20th, Beijing time, there was more good news. Chinese star Zhang Shuai and her French partner, Meladonovic, continued their efforts and defeated the No. 5 seeded pair of Chan Hao-ching and Kichenok 2-0, advancing to the women's doubles quarter-finals. In the first set, Zhang Shuai's team dragged the game into a tiebreak after trailing 0-4 and won it 7-3 in the tiebreak. In the second set, Zhang Shuai's team broke their opponents' serve twice, winning another set 6-2, securing the entire match victory with a score of 2-0. However, there was an incident during the post-match handshake. Perhaps dissatisfied with the loss, Ukrainian star Kichenok did not shake hands with Meladonovic as usual when she approached the net, but instead waited for Zhang Shuai and Chan Hao-ching to shake hands before shaking hands with Zhang Shuai alone. Afterwards, Kichenok turned away with a grimace, leaving only Meladonovic and Zhang Shuai standing there in shock. During the subsequent interview, Meladonovic also mentioned that Kichenok's team had engaged in unsportsmanlike behavior during her serve, which made her very angry. This may be the reason for the incident at the net after the game. Because her own team interfered with the opponent's serve and then blamed the opponent, Kichenok's refusal to shake hands could be seen as "losing both the game and her dignity." In the upcoming women's doubles quarter-finals, the Zhang Shuai/Meladonovic pair will face the top-seeded Townsend/Siniakova pair. We also look forward to Zhang Shuai continuing…

On January 20th, Beijing time, the third round of women's doubles matches took place at the Australian Open. Zhang Shuai and Mladenovic teamed up to defeat Chan Hao-ching and Kichenok with a score of 7-6(3)/6-2, successfully advancing to the quarterfinals of the women's doubles. Zhang Shuai has performed well in this Australian Open, reaching the second round in singles and the quarterfinals in both women's doubles and mixed doubles, with the women's doubles team possessing the potential to challenge for the championship. Zhang Shuai and Mladenovic started slowly, making many mistakes and trailing 0-4 in the first set. However, both players have rich experience and managed to adjust in time, winning five consecutive games to take the lead and ultimately reverse the match. After winning the first set, their opponents' mentality seemed to falter. Zhang Shuai and Mladenovic easily won the second set 6-2, confidently advancing to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Zhang Shuai previously won the Australian Open women's doubles title in 2019 with Stosur, and the two also won the US Open women's doubles title in 2021. Zhang Shuai is considered an ace in the women's doubles category for Chinese women's tennis, having also been a runner-up twice in Grand Slam events (Wimbledon in 2022 and the US Open in 2024). The 31-year-old Mladenovic is a renowned Grand Slam champion in both women's doubles and mixed doubles, having won the Grand Slam title five times and been a runner-up five times. In 2024, Zhang Shuai experienced a period of poor form, admitting that during her low point,…