By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday January 31, 2020
Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic claimed their third major title as a team and did not drop a set while doing so in Melbourne.
Photo Source:Mark Peterson/Corleve
This one goes to 11…
Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic stretched their winning streak to 11 matches and claimed their third major title as a team on Friday at the Australian Open, defeating top-seeded Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbora Strycova 6-2 6-1.
In their third consecutive Australian Open final, second-seeded Babos and Mladenovic won 10 of the final 11 games to earn their second title at Melbourne. They are the first team since 2004 to win the event without dropping a single set in the first women's doubles final since 2010 that saw the two top-seeded teams clash in the final.
The victory is Babos and Mladenovic’s second consecutive win over Hsieh and Strycova. The French-Hungarian duo dropped the Wimbledon semifinal to the eventual champs last year, but rebounded at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen to defeat them for the title.
“We had great memories from last time we played them, that's for sure,” Babos said. “That was the final of the Masters in Shenzhen. We really controlled that match, played very well. Same as today. We had a plan which we really wanted to stick to.”
Babos and Mladenovic each claimed their 23rd doubles title with the victory, and each has held a Top 25 singles ranking in the past, with Mladenovic topping out at 10 and Babos 25.
“It makes it just so much easier to have your best friend by your side because you can fulfill those long days of work that a best friend or family around, I'm very grateful,” Mladenovic said of Babos. “Yeah, like, it's a whole process of life, of living. It's not easy every day as tennis players. Lots of things are going on. Through doubts and whatever, I'm so lucky.”