A day after Alex de Minaur crashed out of Wimbledon and turned his attention to his upcoming wedding, Australian tennis rose from the grass court.
Mark Polmans and Storm Hunter have made it to the mixed doubles final, while Thanasi Kokkinakis and his American partner Alexander Kovacevic are through to the men’s doubles semi-finals.
Polmans and Hunter beat European pair Mate Pavic and Fanny Stollar 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
They will face second seeds Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Marcelo Arevalo of Argentina in the final.
The Australian couple should not lose confidence. In the round of 16 they beat reigning French and US Open champions Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani.
Kokkinakis and Kovacevic beat Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
In the semi-finals they will play world number one pair Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara, who won Wimbledon in 2024 by beating Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the final.
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Purcell and Matt Ebden won the men’s doubles in 2022, while Ebden paired with Sam Stosur in the mixed final that year.
Rinki Hijikata also reached the men’s doubles decider last year, while Hunter is a women’s doubles finalist in 2023.
Ever since Ash Barty won the women’s singles at the Australian Open in 2022 and Nick Kyrgios reached the men’s singles final at Wimbledon the same year, it has been the doubles players who have carried the Australian flag at Grand Slams.
Purcell and Thompson won the men’s doubles title at the 2024 US Open. In Melbourne, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis won the event in 2022, and Hijikata and Jason Kubler the following year.
And Olivia Gadeki and John Pearce have won the last two Australian Open mixed doubles finals.
AARP