China's Zhang Shuai and France's Kristina Mladenovic staged a stunning comeback to secure their place in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open women’s doubles after overcoming early match adversity.
On January 20, 2025, the ninth-seeded pair faced off against fifth seeds Chan Hao-Ching of Chinese Taipei and Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine at Melbourne Park. Despite hitting a rocky patch, where they fell behind 0-4 early in the first set, Zhang and Mladenovic rallied with resilience to clinch the match with scores of 7-6(3), 6-2, completing their victory after one hour and 43 minutes.
Entering the match, both players had endured challenges with their service games early on, which allowed Chan and Kichenok to gain an early advantage. Zhang and Mladenovic struggled initially, losing the first four games before they restructured their gameplay. Zhang managed to hold her serve after saving another break point, shifting the momentum, and the duo capitalized on this newfound confidence.
Following their rocky start, Zhang and Mladenovic shifted their strategy and dominated the latter parts of the match, winning 12 of the ensuing 16 games as they fought back smartly to force the opening set to a tiebreak. During the tense tiebreak, Zhang played pivotal shots—most memorably, her backhand winner which barely caught the baseline, securing the lead at 4-2. With her powerful volleys, Zhang created scoring opportunities, leading to their first set win.
Once they seized the opening set, their momentum carried over smoothly to the second. Zhang’s powerful game continued to shine as she opened the second set with decisive plays, and they quickly took a commanding lead of 4-0. This left their opponents struggling to find answers.
Serving to close out the match, Mladenovic found herself at 5-2, ready to blast through their match points. Zhang delivered one last emphatic overhead volley to bring up three match points. Mladenovic only needed one of those opportunities, serving wide and unreturnable to seal the victory.
With this victory, Zhang and Mladenovic now look to face the formidable top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, the reigning Wimbledon champions, in the upcoming quarterfinals. Zhang, reflecting on their next match, declared Siniakova and Townsend "the best team" she had seen so far, signaling both respect and anticipation. She also added, they would "enjoy every moment" of the match, emphasizing their excitement to challenge themselves against top-tier talent.
Meanwhile, the tournament produced mixed results for other Chinese competitors. Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu were knocked out of the doubles competition after battling through to three sets, eventually succumbing to Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia and Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo. The duo saved one match point but were outplayed, finishing with scores of 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
On the men’s side, Zhang Zhizhen and his Czech partner Tomas Machac's run came to a close as they faced defeat against the 15th seeds Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, ending the match with scores of 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
The Australian Open continues to deliver thrilling tennis, and with big matches on the horizon, both viewers and players remain eager to see how the action will develop.