Highlights, Australian Open 2018: Rohan Bopanna-Timea Babos enter mixed doubles final

Bopanna-Babos enter mixed doubles final

With a 7-5, 5-7, [10-6] margin, Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos enter the mixed doubles final after beating Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Marcelo Demoliner. They face Gabriela Dabrwoski and Mate Pavic.

Bopanna-Babos leading in tiebreak

Trailing 1-2, Bopanna and Babos clawed back to level at 2-2. They then took two consecutive points to take a 4-2 lead as we head into the mini-break.

Martinez Sanchez and Demoliner level the match at one set all

Martinez Sanchez and Demoliner had three set points, before Bopanna and Babos clawed back into the point with some great returns. However, the Brazilian-Spanish pair close out the set. And we’re heading into a match tiebreak. First team to reach 10 points wins!

Martinez Sanchez and Demoliner earn a break 

Babos gets broken. And now Martinez Sanchez will serve for the second set after taking a 6-5 lead. Remember, Bopanna and Babos won the first set.

Bopanna-Babos lead 4-3 in second set

After Demoliner holds his serve, with a little bit of an effort, Babos holds her effortlessly, even serving out the game with an ace to make a statement. This match has now gone past the one-hour mark.

Bopanna-Babos lead 3-2

Martinez Sanchez and Demoliner alomost looked like they had a measure of the Bopanna serve, but at 40-40, Bopanna shows just how good his serve is with a vicious serve that Demoliner can only get his racket to but cannot return. Another service hold, 3-2 in favour of Boapanna and his Hungarian partner.

On serve, but advantage Bopanna-Babos

Bopanna’s quick-silver reflexes at the net earn the Indo-Hungarian duo a 2-1 lead in the second set. His looming presence at the net has been critical for the pair’s hopes. He finished off the point thrice during Babos’ serve. Demoliner and Martinez Sanchez have to be more wily if they are to counter the Indian’s presence at the net.

Bopanna-Babos lead 1-0 in 2nd set

Martinez Sanchez and Demoliner really having trouble with that venomous Bopanna serve. The Indo-Hungarian pair take a 1-0 lead in the second set after closing out the first.

Bopanna-Babos clinch first set 7-5

Bopanna and his partner Babos, who earlier today won the women’s doubles match with her partner Kristina Mladenovic, clinched the first set 7-5 in 34 minutes. Bopanna-Babos had 10 unforced errors there, yet managed to close out the set.

6-5 now in the first set

After a topsy-turvy first part of the match, both pairs have held their serves. Martinez Sanchez will now serve to keep the Brazilian-Spanish pair in the contest.

First set hangs in the balance at 4-4

Bopanna-Babos took a 4-1 lead there, but Demoliner and Martínez Sánchez have clawed back to level the first set! This is incredible from the pair. Demoliner has really been the difference, being everywhere on the court over the last couple of games.

First set evenly poised at 1-1 in first set 

Bopanna closes out the game with a smacking return down the line to hold his serve. However, Brazil’s Demoliner also holds his serve to bring the Spaniard-Brazilian pair level.

Bopanna and Babaos knocked out the defending champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and American Abigail Spears in the quarter-finals

The 5th seeded Indo-Hungarian pair won 6-4, 7-6(5) in an hour and 40 minutes.

Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos’ semi-final match is scheduled second on Margaret Court Arena.

The first match is the other mixed doubles semi-final between Ekaterina Makarova/Bruno Soares and Gabriela Dabrwoski/Mate Pavic, which will start at 1.30 pm.

The champs with their trophy!

This is Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos’ first Grand Slam trophy together.

Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos have been crowned the women’s doubles champions!

They defeat 2nd seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-3.

Babos/Mladenovic break for 5-3 in the second set.

Mladenovic will now serve for the Australian Open women’s doubles title.

Makarova and Vesnina are the 5th seeds and are aiming for a Golden Career Grand Slam

As a team, they have won Roland Garros (2013), US Open (2014), Olympic Gold (2016) and Wimbledon (2017), with the Australian Open the only major crown missing from their collection. 

Just five teams have completed the career Grand Slam in doubles in the Open Era: Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith, Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver, Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, Serena and Venus Williams, and Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Of those, Serena and Venus are the only two to also win Olympic Gold together. Shriver and Fernandez did win doubles gold medals but with different partners. 

Babos and Mladenovic are bidding for their first Grand Slam doubles title together, having finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 2014. Mladenovic has won a Major title before with Caroline Garcia at the 2016 Roland Garros.

Meanwhile, Timea Babos is currently in action on the Rod Laver Arena, playing in the women’s doubles final with Kristina Mladenovic

Babos-Mladenovic won the first set 6-4 over Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos are playing together as a team for the first time.

They have performed really well and are yet to drop a set at the Australian Open.

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of the Australian Open.

India’s Rohan Bopanna and Timea Babos will be in action in the mixed doubles semi-final today.

Stay tuned for scores and updates from Melbourne.