via Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Women’s Doubles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 19, 2021 Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka celebrate with the trophy after winning the women’s doubles final against Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
via Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Women’s Doubles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 19, 2021 Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka celebrate with the trophy after winning the women’s doubles final against Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
The women’s doubles event at the Australian Open 2021 has concluded, and the tennis world has its newly crowned champions! Crowd favorites, Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka, raced to clinch the title by defeating Czech players, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, in straight sets.
Mertens and Sabalenka have been simply clinical throughout the tournament, and their hard work has finally paid off. The 2021 Australian Open title is the second Grand Slam victory for the Belgian-Belarusian pair, as they also won the US Open 2019.
Singles R16ists win #Ausopen doubles! 🎉🎉
#2 Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens defeat Siniakova and Krejcikova, 6-2, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/jVYeBeUPN8
— くれふぁ@暫定垢 (@umbre_sports532) February 19, 2021
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It wasn’t an easy challenge for Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens when they took on Krejcikova and Katerina in the finals. The Czech pair had won two Grand Slams in 2018 and came into Australian Open 2021 as the #3 seeds.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens reach new heights with their triumph
Krejcikova and Siniakova lost the match partly due to their nerves. They racked up eight double faults in the finals while their opponents didn’t commit any. Meanwhile, Sabalenka and her teammate served up five aces, four more than their opponents.
The 6-2, 6-3, win also awarded special recognition to Sabalenka and Mertens as they soared to become the #1 ranked WTA team in women’s doubles. The pair just dropped two sets throughout the course of the tournament, and so it is a well-deserved achievement.
It's celebration time 😃@elise_mertens x @SabalenkaA 🏆🙌#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/Uo6NoNZJRm
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 19, 2021
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The Australian Open 2021 champions finished the match in just 1 hour and 19minutes as Sabalenka’s mighty serves and Mertens’ composed striking handed them the victory.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks and I want to thank everyone who made this tournament possible,” Mertens said after the win. “Thanks to my partner and we didn’t have fans for a couple of days and I’m really glad they are back.”
via Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Women’s Doubles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 19, 2021 Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka celebrate with the trophy after winning the women’s doubles final against Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova REUTERS/Kelly Defina TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Furthermore, Sabalenka confirmed the decision to put her participation in doubles events on partial hold. The 22-year-old wants to focus on getting better in the singles, but she will pair with Mertens to play a few WTA 1000 and 500 events and not Grand Slams.
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Also Read – “Maybe She Wants it Too Badly”: Tennis Legend Opens Up on Serena Williams’ Defeat at Australian Open 2021
