Melbourne | Krejcikova & Siniakova to meet Aoyama & Shibahara in AO doubles final

Top seeds Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova defeated Marta Kostyuk & Elena-Gabriela Ruse to advance to the Australian Open women’s doubles final, where they will face Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara, the No 10 seeds, who put an end to the hopes of the second seeds, Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula on Friday.

Knock me down nine times, I get up 10 [black love heart emoji]. Always a fun time Down Under... thank you @australianopen. Coco Gauff

Krejcikova & Siniakova are the defending champions at Melbourne Park and have not lost a match at the Grand Slam level since the 2021 US Open.

Here, the Czech pair have not dropped a set since losing the second set in the 1st-round against Norway’s Ulrikke Ekeri & Catherine Harrison from the USA.

Winners of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open last year, Krejcikova & Siniakova are bidding for their 2nd Australian Open title and 7th major title overall on Sunday.

They won their 23rd consecutive Grand Slam match by defeating Ukraine’s Kostyuk & Ruse from Romania, 6-2 6-2 in the semi-finals.

Krejcikova & Siniakova broke open the match with their first break of serve to lead 4-2, winning a key 14-shot rally to earn their chance, and converting on a volley error.

An ace from Siniakova extended their lead to 5-2, and the Czech pair closed out the set in 38 minutes by breaking Kostyuk to end the opener.

In all, the Czechs reeled off 7 consecutive games before Kostyuk put the underdogs on the board at 3-1, but the top seeds continued to ease through their service games to close out the match after an hour and 18 minutes.

In their last 4 matches, which include a win over American Desirae Krawczyk & Demi Schuurs from the Netheralnds, the 6th seeds, Krejcikova & Siniakova have lost no more than 5 games in a match.

Japan's Shuko Aoyama (front) & Ena Shibahara upset 2nd-seeded Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula to reach the AO doubles final

In the trophy match on Sunday, they will face Aoyama & Shibahara from Japan, who upset Gauff & Pegula, 6-2 7-6(7), in their semi-final.

After dominating the opening set in just 27 minutes, Aoyama & Shibahara rallied from 3-0 down in the second, and saved 4 set points in the latter stages to edge out the Americans in the tiebreak and seal a straight-set win.

A disappointed Gauff wrote on social media together with a series of photos: “Knock me down nine times, I get up 10 [black love heart emoji]. Always a fun time Down Under… thank you @australianopen.”

Peluga, 28, is more established on the WTA Tour, boasting a £5.2billion net worth, and she boosted her earnings by around £60,000 by reaching the doubles semi-finals.

The two Americans earned around £120,000 for their doubles exploits, splitting the prize money between them.

Aoyama & Shibahara won 8 doubles titles during the 2020 and 2021 seasons before splitting up as a team after a run to the Australian Open semi-finals last year.

Now, having reunited to start this season, the Japanese pair has lost just one set at Melbourne Park, and are eyeing a major prize on Sunday.

Coco Gauff (R) & Jessica Pegula were hoping to go the distance in the doubles but were up-ended by Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara on Friday in the semi-finals