Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans are relishing their new doubles partnership amid yet another win on home soil on Monday, in an all-Aussie matchup that had everything from deft volleys to an Air Force flyover.
“It's just really nice to share the court with Jason,” Polmans said on court after their third-round win at the Australian Open.
“It's our first time playing here at home. Everyone comes out, [the] support's awesome. My friends and family are here… this is the best tournament, best time of the year for me.”
Kubler and Polmans displayed craftsmanship to overcome exuberant compatriots James McCabe and Li Tu 6-4 6-4, in a tight match that was punctuated by the sound of jet engines and a 21-gun salute.
A six-strong fleet of Air Force jets performed a flyover midway through the match, which drew gasps from spectators who rushed to pull out their phones and capture aircraft contrails hanging over a sun-soaked Margaret Court Arena.
Not that it bothered the experienced Kubler.
“When you're out on those big courts, a lot of the noise … just becomes noise,” he told reporters at Melbourne Park.
“So I actually didn't really hear it. The only time I saw it was when all the, the smoke from the airplanes, I guess.”
The air was heavy with sunscreen and anticipation as the tournament moved into its second week, and the tennis lived up to the crowd’s energy.
McCabe was strong at the net as well as on serve as the countrymen traded tit-for-tat volleys in the opening games, while fans showed due appreciation for Tu’s athleticism in chasing down lobs.
But Kubler and Polmans displayed guile and cunning to earn break points halfway through the first set, and duly converted despite some expansive defensive work by Tu.
Polmans also secured a break early in the second set with a clever crosscourt volley, before the pair held their nerve to fight off break points and close out their service game to go 3-1 up.
There was yet more dynamism from Tu and McCabe, the latter of whom survived a run-in with the advertising hoardings while chasing down a shot, emerging with just a sore hand.
But it wasn’t quite enough, as Kubler and Polmans closed out the match with calmness and a clarity of purpose.
“It was a good quality match,” a relieved Polmans said. “Thankfully Jason and I were able to get one break in each set which was the deciding factor.”
“I thought [we] did a good job of taking our chances when they arose.”
The pair face French twelfth seeds Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in the quarterfinals.
“They’re a tricky doubles team” Kubler said ahead of the matchup.
“With doubles it's honestly one point here or there, you know, so we gotta do our best in the moment to go for it and play our way.”
The duo are delighting in their new pairing, having upset the “Special Ks” Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in a pulsating first-round classic, before coming from a set down to overwhelm Marcus Willis and Jakub Paul in the second round.
Birrell and Gibson combine for quarterfinal run
On court immediately after, countrywomen Kimberly Birrell and Talia Gibson pulled off a comeback win of their own over Kristina Mladenovic and Guo Hanyu.
After losing the first set, the pair rallied to record a 3-6 6-4 6-2 victory and advance to what will be Gibson’s first Grand Slam quarterfinals appearance.
“This is just extremely exciting and we’re both over the moon,” the 21-year-old Gibson said on court post-match.
Despite going down in the first set, the pair were confident in their gameplan.
“We didn't really need to deviate or change our tactics,” Birrell told tennis.com.au.
“We just needed to keep backing ourselves and [we] knew that we were gonna get the momentum at some point and that ended up happening.”
The pair came out firing in the second set, racing to a 5-0 lead, before their opponents mounted a comeback of their own.
“Being 5-0 up and then having a medical timeout – it can be a bit tough sometimes to sort of just completely reset,” Gibson said.
“I think we just still tried to take it point by point, just focus on ourselves and we did that really well in the end.”
The Australians added that they were buoyed by a raucous home crowd.
“I think every Aussie just appreciates and loves playing at home so much,” Birrell said.
“And to now get to play even more matches here in Melbourne. It’s really special.”
They will face Vera Zvonareva and Ena Shibahara in the next round, who have beaten two seeded teams on their way to the quarterfinals.