| Match: Finished | 1 | 2 |
|---|---|---|
| S. Stosur (AUS) | 6 | 6 |
| T. Babos (HUN) [2] | 3 | 4 |
| Completed Sets | ||
|---|---|---|
| Set won by S. Stosur | 6 - 4 | S. Stosur leads 2 to 0 |
| Set won by S. Stosur | 6 - 3 | S. Stosur leads 1 to 0 |
Samantha Stosur will have a chance to fight for a grand slam title on Friday afternoon at Rod Laver Arena as she teams with Shuai Zhang to take on Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4pm (AEDT).
Stosur and Zhang have been on a fantastic run throughout the Australian Open, beating the number one seed on the way to a final where they have dominated everyone in their path.
While Stosur has been struggling with her singles game in recent years, she is fantastic on the doubles court. A game built around a strong first serve, all court movement and a good amount of play at the net has set her up to be one of the better doubles players in the word.
Alongside Zhang, the Aussie made it to the semi-final of the US Open last year, before they ultimately went down to the combination they will face today, however, with more experience playing together as a team under the belt, they could be primed and ready to go strongly here.
However, Babos and Mladenovic have established themselves as one of the top doubles teams on the women’s circuit.
After beating Stosur and Zhang at last year’s US Open final, they lost the final to Ashleigh Barty and Coco Vandeweghe. While they are the second ranked doubles team in the world, they had plenty of frustration last year in terms of losing big matches, although they did finish well, winning the WTA Finals.
If they can replicate the form there, Babos and Mladenovic will be tough to beat, however, they are yet to take on any of the top teams at Melbourne Park with a somewhat soft draw, so it’s hard to get a read on exactly how well they are playing.
Stosur’s serve may well be the difference here though if Babos and Mladenovic can’t find a way to counter it early and then stay on top of it throughout the contest.
Prediction
Stosur and Zhang have been in great form, although are right up against it here, facing the second seed. Still, the duo have already beaten the number one seed and are primed to breakthrough here with the home crowd behind them.
Stosur and Zhang in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the women’s doubles final at the 2019 Australian Open from 4pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to leave a comment in the section below.
Start time: 4pm (AEDT)
Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
TV: Live, Channel 9
Online: Live, 9Now
Betting: Babos/Mladenovic $1.52, Stosur/Zhang $2.65
johnty
Guest
Tough fight
Scott Pryde
Expert
Hi Justine, Teams get to choose who serves the first game of a set in doubles. Weird, I know, but that's my understanding of the rule.
Justine
Guest
Hi, I’m confused!!! Why did Stosur serve this game?? She served the winning game of set 1 so it should have been Zhang’s turn to serve????
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me this afternoon on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2019 Australian Open. Hopefully you enjoyed the call. I'll be back at 7:30pm (AEDT) this evening for the second men's singles semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Lucas Pouille. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the match Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Samantha Stosur and Shuai Zhang defeat Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets to win the 2019 Australian Open women's doubles tournament Aussie Samantha Stosur and doubles partner Shuai Zhang have staged a monumental upset in the final of the 2019 Australian Open women's doubles tournament, defeating second seed Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. After losing to the duo in the semi-finals of last year's US Open, the same result looked like it was going to be on the cards after Stosur's first service game saw her fend off four break points and Zhang's first saw her get broken. However, they fought back well into the first set, starting to swing freely and play without pressure, first breaking back, then breaking again to win four straight games to take out the first set. From there, the second set was tense, but a wonderful game at 3-3 got them the break once again, with Stosur excellent in guiding Zhang through, who herself, despite some obvious nerves, played excellent tennis. The game after the break almost saw an immediate break back, but they held firm, then Stosur managed to serve it out, despite facing yet another break point. By the end of the match, Stosur was the only one not to be broken, despite facing more break points than any other player. In the end, a dominant victory from Stosur and Zhang to take out the women's doubles tournament at the 2019 Australian Open. Samantha Stosur/Shuai Zhang……. 6 6 Kristina Mladenovic/Timea Babos… 3 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
GAME, SET, MATCH, CHAMPIONSHIP SAMANTHA STOSUR/SHUAI ZHANG Fault from Stosur. Long rally between Stosur and Babos, great depth, then Babos hits the forehand long from the baseline! Sam Stosur and Shuai Zhang have won the women's doubles at the Australian Open! Zhang looks in shock, and Stosur just over the moon. What a performance. They have beaten the second seed. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 6 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4
Scott Pryde
Expert
Incredible defence from Babos and Mladenovic on the baseline. Zhang and Babos a crosscourt rally, then Stosur finally gets the overhead. Second championship point. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - AD Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Double fault from Stosur. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - deuce (2) Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from Stosur. The second is at the body, Stosur hits a forehand at Mladenovic and she puts a ball into the net. Championship point! Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - AD Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stosur has saved a mountain of break points on her serve today. To the Babos forehand, then the approach forehand down the middle and an overhead between them. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - deuce (1) Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Great depth on the return here from Mladenovic. Stosur has to go backwards and hits the forehand down the line, missing from behind the baseline. Break point. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 30 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Serve swinging away down the T and Babos can't get the return in. Excellent serve from Stosur! Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 30 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Shot! Oh what a shot! Not a terrible return, but Stosur has found some space that wasn't there past Babos down the sideline. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 15 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stosur with a fault. The second is returned short, then Zhang struggles with a barrage of shots at her up at the net, and she eventually sends a volley off the ground wide. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 0 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stosur returns up the T, then hits a drop shot, comes into the net and misses the backhand volley. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 0 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Serve down the T, Zhang returns into the net and Babos holds. However, Stosur will serve for the championship after the change of ends. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - Mladenovic/Babos… 3 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Wide serve, returned well, then Mladenovic returns the volley into the net. Good shot there from Stosur. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 30 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 3 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Good work at the net from Babos and Mladenovic this time. Zhang nets a backhand half volley. Stosur/Zhang………. 6 5 - 15 Mladenovic/Babos… 3 3 - 40