Melbourne, Australia , 25 January 2022 | Darren Parkin

Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler’s dream run at Australian Open 2022 continues, with the pair storming into the mixed doubles semifinals with a straight sets victory over experienced pair Sania Mirza and Rajeev Ram today.

Having saved match points in each of their last two matches, Fourlis and Kubler were always in front this afternoon.

They claimed an early break on route to a 6-4 first set, before leading all the way in the second-set tiebreak.

Fourlis and Kubler’s opponents had won 20 Grand Slam titles – across doubles and mixed doubles – while the Australian wildcard entrants had not won a match together before this week.

“It’s crazy when we win, we look at each other and think ‘what the hell is happening right now?’,” Kubler said on court.

“It’s not just our first semifinal, it’s our first quarterfinal, our first second round, our first anything.”

https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1485850710331863043?s=20

Fourlis and Kubler defeated No.7 seeds Nina Stojanovic and Mate Pavic in the first round, before downing experienced Australian duo Sam Stosur and Matthew Ebden in the second.

“I feel like for us it’s just one match at a time, one day at a time and anything is possible,” said Fourlis, who produced a rock-solid performance.

“We’ve got a lot of my friends and family here. I’m from Melbourne so it is really great to do it here. It’s been unreal.”

A key for the Australians was saving nine of the 11 break point chances the experienced Ram and Mirza created.

By contrast, Fourlis and Kubler converted three of their four chances to break, with both serving  extremely well on big points.

In the second set tiebreak, the pair set up two match points at 6-4, missing a forehand on the first, but some sharp net play helped them secure a second.

“I think we get a day off tomorrow,” said Kubler, as a dream home title edged closer.

“We’ll just relax a little bit and hopefully keep doing what we are doing.”

Australian Open 2022

TODAY’S RESULTS
Mixed doubles, quarterfinals
[WC] Jaimee Fourlis (AUS)/Jason Kubler (AUS) d Sania Mirza (IND)/Rajeev Ram (USA) 6-4 7-6(5)
[2] Zhang Shuai (CHN)/John Peers (AUS) d [8] Ena Shibahara (JPN)/Ben McLachlan (JPN) 6-4 6-4

COMING UP
Mixed doubles, semifinals
[WC] Jaimee Fourlis (AUS)/Jason Kubler (AUS) v Lucie Hradecka (CZE)/Gonzalo Escobar (ECU)
[2] Zhang Shuai (CHN)/John Peers (AUS) v [5] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)/Ivan Dodig (FRA)