Mertens and Zhang win Australian Open women's doubles crown

MELBOURNE, Jan 31 : Fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai won the Australian Open women's doubles title on Saturday with a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic, claiming their first Grand Slam trophy as a duo.

The victory handed Mertens her sixth Grand Slam title while Zhang won her third but the triumph almost never happened, with the Belgian-Chinese pair forced to save three match points in the second round against teenagers Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko.

"It's been quite a week so far," said Mertens, who is set to move up to world number one in the doubles rankings.

"I'm lost for words. In the second round of doubles, we had three match points against us. We kept on fighting, we kept on believing and we really grew as a team. Today, in the final, I'm happy that I served it out eventually.

"It's the first week that we've actually played together and what a result. It's been amazing."

Danilina and Krunic had a superb start when they raced to a 4-1 lead in a gripping opening set but the momentum turned gradually as Mertens and Zhang clawed their way back, winning four games in a row.

As Danilina and Krunic suddenly found themselves trailing, they responded with renewed composure, playing solidly from the baseline and showing sharp movement at the net.

Holding their nerve under pressure, the pair secured two crucial games to stay alive in the set and successfully force a tiebreak.

TITLE-WINNING EXPERIENCE SHINES THROUGH

But the experience of Mertens and Zhang shone through in the tiebreak, with the Belgian underlining her class on a standout point, producing a flurry of quick-reaction shots to bring up set point before the pair wrapped up the set in 55 minutes.

The fourth seeds carried that momentum into