Aussie duo Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler enjoyed a magical run in the Australian Open 2022 mixed doubles competition - but just fell short of a fairy-tale finish.
Kristina Mladenovic of France and Ivan Dodig of Croatia proved too strong in today's championship match, recording a 6-3 6-4 victory at Rod Laver Arena.
The big-stage experience of the fifth seeds proved telling, hitting 21 winners to eight and claiming all four break points they earned in the 77-minute encounter.
It ends an incredible tournament for 22-year-old Fourlis, who was making her first appearance in a Grand Slam mixed doubles draw, and 28-year-old Kubler, who was contesting his second.
The Aussie wildcards won four matches to advance to their first major final, remarkably saving seven match points during their career-best run (two in the first round, four in the second round and one in the semifinals).
"It's been an absolute laugh this week, it's been so much fun," Fourlis said. "We didn't really know what to expect to be honest, but hey, we made it this far."
Fourlis and Kubler had been aiming to become only the fourth all-Australian team to win an Australian Open mixed doubles title in the Open era.
"It's a shame we didn't get the win, it would have been a pretty cool story for us," Kubler said. "But far out, we had so much fun.
"Hopefully we can build on this, maybe on the singles court as well."
Australian Open 2022
TODAY'S RESULTS
Mixed doubles, final
[5] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)/Ivan Dodig (CRO) d [WC] Jaimee Fourlis (AUS)/Jason Kubler (AUS) 6-3 6-4
Girls' singles, semifinal
[8] Sofia Costoulas (BEL) d Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (AUS) 6-4 6-1
COMING UP
Women's singles, final
[1] Ash Barty (AUS) v [27] Danielle Collins (USA)
Men's doubles, final
Matt Ebden (AUS)/Max Purcell (AUS) v [WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)/Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
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