Yan and Zheng dig deep for title
Zi Yan and Jie Zheng saved two championship points as they claimed the Australian Open women's doubles title over Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.
The top seeds seemed set for victory at one set and one break up before Yan and Zheng rallied to win their first doubles grand slam title 2-6 7-6 (9/7) 6-3.
After the Chinese pair broke to a 2-0 lead in the first set, Raymond and Stosur attacked the weak service of both their opponents to reel off eight straight games – taking the set and an early break in the second.
But Yan and Zheng broke back to take the second set to a dramatic tie-break, saving two championship points before they finally claimed it 9-7.
Stosur’s volleying then fell to pieces in the final set, and she missed several simple chances at the net as the 12th seeds claimed an early break.
Raymond and Stosur broke back to level at 3-3, but Yan and Zheng broke twice again to take the match and the title in two-and-a-quarter hours.
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