By Ros Satar
- Barbora Krejcikova/Nikola Mektic [5] def. Jamie Murray/Bethanie Mattek-Sands 5-7 6-4 10-1
- Dylan Alcott [1] def. Andy Lapthorne [2] 6-0 6-4
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – It was not to be for both Brits in action on Day 13 of the Australian Open.
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Barbora Krejcikova/Nikola Mektic [5] def. Jamie Murray/Bethanie Mattek-Sands 5-7 6-4 10-1
Jamie Murray’s wait for an eighth Grand Slam title will have to wait as he and American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands were beaten in the third set tie-break in the Mixed Doubles final. It had been a slow start for the pair as the No.5 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Nikola Mektic looked very sharp in the early exchanges.
The first sign of a wobble was when Mektic served for the first set, double-faulting on the deciding point for Murray and Mattek-Sands to break back, with the American in particular leading the charge as they wrapped up the first set.
Very quickly though, they found themselves a double-break down in the second set, and once more Mattek-Sands was instrumental in helping them gain one of the breaks back, but it was not enough to stop the match being levelled.
They were comprehensively outplayed in the match-tie-break as Krejcikova retained the title she won last year with Rajeev Ram.
Murray said, at the trophy presentation on-court: “The first time Beth’s been lost for words. We fought as hard as we can but came up short, so congrats on a Grand Slam title.
“It was a good, fun atmosphere to play. Beth, thanks for being a great partner, we have had a lot of success but more importantly a lot of fun. We’ll try and come back next year and get a win.”
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Dylan Alcott [1] def. Andy Lapthorne [2] 6-0 6-4
Australia’s Dylan Alcott delivered an emphatic home win, exacting a touch of revenge over Britain’s Andy Lapthorne.
Lapthorne took Alcott to deuce in five of the six games in the opening set of the quad singles final, but having beaten the Australian 6-1, 6-0 in last September’s US Open, he ensured that he got more than one game on the board himself in Alcott’s home city. A succession of winners saw Lapthorne take 3-2 and 4-3 second set leads, only for Alcott to come back for his sixth Australian Open title.
One of four players on the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme to have reached or contested five title deciders from six events at Melbourne Park, Lapthorne became world No.1 in singles for the first time in his career last Monday.
Speaking on Rod Laver Arena, the Australian Open’s centre court, he said:
“I’ve been coming here for years and cheering on Andy Murray and hearing ‘Come on Andy’ on this court, so many times. For that Andy to be me today is honestly… you have no idea. I might have lost today, but that will stay with me forever.
“If there’s one disabled person at home that’s watching this and wondering whether they should go for their dreams, we are proof down here that you should. I was up there (in the stands) the other night watching Nick Kyrgios and cheering on Nick and now I’m sitting on the court in front of this there’s this amazing crowd, so if there’s anyone out there, just go for it.”
“It’s always disappointing to lose, especially in a Slam final, but equally when you get to play on such a big court, in such a big occasion you also have to be happy about the fact you got yourself into the position to be able to be part of a moment like that.”
Gordon Reid’s bid for a second Australian Open men’s singles title has been rescheduled to Sunday as the second match on Court 8 at 11am (Midnight GMT).
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