Jan 26, 2025, 02:41 AM ET
MELBOURNE, Australia — Top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend claimed the women’s doubles crown at the Australian Open on Sunday after beating Jelena Ostapenko and Su-Wei Hsieh 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in a grueling final.
The victory at Rod Laver Arena gave Siniakova and Townsend their second Grand Slam title after their Wimbledon triumph last year, while it was the 10th major title for Siniakova, the doubles world No. 1.
“Big thanks goes to Taylor,” Siniakova, a Czech Republic native, said after lifting the trophy with her American partner. “We are having fun, and that’s the most important, so thank you for playing with me. I’m really enjoying it.”
For Townsend, the win was a full-circle moment in her career after she won the title as a junior in Melbourne in 2012.
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“This is super special to me,” she said. “The last time I played on this court I was 15. This tournament was the start of me being able to live out my dream. I honestly didn’t think that it was possible for me to be playing on this stage.”
Siniakova and Townsend had several opportunities to break early on and finally converted a break point to go up 2-1, as Hsieh and Ostapenko struggled with their serve.
The third seeds quickly found themselves down 5-1, as Siniakova and Townsend consolidated a double break before the American sealed the set with an emphatic volley at the net.
After they traded early breaks in the second set, Townsend was once again effective at the net with an overhead smash that gave them a 4-3 lead before Siniakova held her serve to put them one game away from the title.
But Ostapenko and Hsieh, playing in just their second tournament as a pairing, broke back in the 10th game when Townsend served for the title.
A frustrated Siniakova threw her racket on the ground before the third seeds won the tiebreak and forced a decider. She then lost her composure and was broken in the first game of the third set with three double faults.
But they quickly regrouped to break back and Siniakova converted a crucial break point to go up 5-3.
This time, Siniakova served for the title, and despite another double fault with three championship points, they sealed victory when Townsend fired a volley at the net down the middle to win in two hours and 27 minutes.
“I think for our second tournament, playing a Grand Slam final is not bad,” Ostapenko said.
“Together, I hope there are many more trophies for us.”
