The first final of the Australian Open has been decided, with unseeded duo Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova winning the women's doubles title.
American Mattek-Sands and Czech Safarova trumped 14th seeds Jie Zheng and Yung-Jan Chan 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in one hour and 44 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
It was the first grand slam women's doubles title for both players.
Remarkably, it was the first time Mattek-Sands and Safarova had teamed up on the WTA tour.
"I know Bethanie quite a bit and my coach is a good friend of her husband," Safarova said earlier this week.
"So, in the off-season, we were messaging and we said 'let's go for the doubles in Melbourne'.
"Seems like a good decision."
Mattek-Sands, who slipped to No.258 in singles rankings after injuring her hip last year, needed treatment on her leg in the second set.
She failed to hold serve in that set, but battled back after the medical timeout to help force a tiebreaker.
The Chinese pairing fought back from 4-1 down in the breaker, drawing level at 4-4 and 5-5, but could never grab the ascendancy and edge ahead.
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