Tennis: Zieliński advances to Australian Open doubles final

Poland’s Jan Zieliński and Hugo Nys of Monaco defeated Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin 6:3, 5:7, 6:2 to advance to the doubles final of the Grand Slam tennis tournament at the Australian Open in Melbourne.

It is the biggest success in the 26-year-old Pole's career. With two doubles titles to his credit, Zieliński has so far made it furthest in the Grand Slam at last year’s US Open, when he and Nys reached the quarterfinals.

“We complement each other very well. We are good buddies off the court and on it we understand each other very well too. We can be unpredictable and that makes us dangerous,” Zieliński said.

FIRST. GRAND. SLAM. FINAL.

🇲🇨 @HugoNys/@zielaczekk 🇵🇱 hold off Chardy/Martin 6-3 5-7 6-2 for the biggest win of their careers!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/b7HK2QzdUW

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2023

The encounter lasted one hour and 48 minutes. The Polish-Monegasque pair sent as many as 14 service aces, while their rivals sent only three. Zieliński and Nys recorded 40 finishing plays, compared to 15 by the French.

Advancing to the finals moved Zieliński from 36th to a career-best 16th position in Monday's doubles rankings. If he and Nys win the title in Melbourne, the Pole will jump into the top 10.

Their final opponents will be either number eight seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horacio Zeballos, or Australians Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler.

The men’s doubles final is scheduled for Saturday.