MELBOURNE, Australia — Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Chinese partner Zhang Shuai clinched their first Grand Slam women’s doubles title as a team Saturday when they downed Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic at the Australian Open.
The fourth seeds, in only their seventh event together, were too good for the seventh-seeded Kazakh and Serbian pair on Rod Laver Arena, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
Currently ranked sixth, Mertens will reclaim the women’s doubles world No 1 ranking with the victory, AFP reported.
It was a third Australian Open doubles crown for the experienced Belgian, who won in 2021 alongside Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and again in 2024 playing with Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei.
Zhang won the tournament with Australian Samantha Stosur in 2019.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, launched his career in the shadow of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal but has surpassed them both and now stands on the cusp of tennis history.
The 38-year-old Serb will win a record 25th Grand Slam crown if he beats world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s Australian Open final.
He is tied with the Australian Margaret Court for the most majors, his 24 is two more than Nadal and four more than Federer.
Djokovic also boasts a stack of other achievements including Paris Olympic gold, 101 ATP titles and most weeks at world No 1 with a staggering 428.
He is the undisputed king of Melbourne Park, winning the Australian Open a record 10 times – he has never lost a final there.
Djokovic started out at a time when Federer and Nadal ruled the sport, with fans firmly in one camp or the other.
When the Serb won his first Grand Slam title, at the Australian Open in 2008, Federer was already on 12 majors and Nadal had taken virtual ownership of the French Open.
Djokovic did not win another major until 2011, but he never made any secret of his aim to be the greatest of all time.
In terms of Grand Slam titles, Djokovic has gone on to pass them both as the last remaining member of the “Big Three” of men’s tennis.
But while the retired Nadal and Federer are adored by tennis fans even now, Djokovic sharply divides opinion.
He had to battle Federer and a pro-Swiss crowd in the 2019 Wimbledon final, which he won after saving match points.
Djokovic is not afraid to go toe to toe with hostile fans, using their jibes to fuel his relentless quest for glory and showing the depth of his competitiveness.
Off court he is urbane and thoughtful, and able to speak fluently in a number of languages.
An exasperated John McEnroe expressed his frustration at the way that Djokovic is sometimes treated by the Wimbledon crowds in particular.
“He’s like the Darth Vader compared to two of the classiest acts we’ve seen play tennis – Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer,” he said.
Djokovic has shown an astonishing ability to shut out the noise and thrives when the odds are stacked against him.
After stunning two-time Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in a five-set semi-final, Djokovic said: “I see there is a lot of experts all of a sudden that wanted to retire me or have retired me many times the last couple of years.
“You know, I want to thank them all because they gave me strength.”
