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The mixed duo Astra Sharma and John-Patrick Smith completed a double Australian treble, winning the Australian Open final.
Sharma and Smith surprised Americans Nicole Melichar and Brazilian Bruno Soares, 6-4 7-6 (7-5), seeded second, to reach their first big selection. The duo joins Samantha Stosur and John Peers for the local flag, each qualifying for the double final this weekend.
Thursday night, Smith had even more reason to celebrate this event, celebrating its 30th anniversary.
After finishing the semifinal at 11:20 pm, Smith was eager to spend the last minutes of the day in the traditional way.
"Where are my beers? Who has my beers? He asked the crowd during his meeting with the court.
The Queenslander larrikin then retired, citing the need for routine. "I had to play on RLA, so I would have thought I'd have a good day in the books," he says.
Sharma, a 23-year-old Western Australian, and Smith, a Townsville veteran, knew each other shortly before pairing for two weeks. They made a clear connection, beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray, winners of the majors, in the quarterfinals before Thursday night's triumph.
As Smith acknowledged, Sharma was the star and continued her beautiful form in singles at Melbourne Park.
"Ash carried me. She did very well and did very well for me this tournament, "he said.
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Sharma, the world No. 23, has qualified for her first major this month and has won her first-round match to guarantee a huge drop in the standings.
She can toast at the Grand Slam tennis with a final against Czech Barbora Krejcikova and American Rajeev Ram on Saturday; the national holiday of the country.
"Everything is unreal," she says, "I really can not think now. "Going to court, you see all these illuminated signs and it's intimidating. I was shaking in my boots.
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"I am really speechless. I really can not believe the situation in which we find ourselves. I was in expectation of nothing and now I am absolutely on the moon. Their triumph means that the last three days of the tournament will all feature Australians.
Stosur won the women's doubles final on Friday, where she will team up with Zhang Shuai against defending champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic. Peers, champion of the 2017 Australian Open with his current partner Henri Kontinen, will face Sunday the formidable French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
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