Late on Saturday night, Aussie wildcards Rinky Hijikata (NSW) and Jason Kubler (QLD) were crowned Australian Open 2023 Doubles Champions.<\/p>\n
Eliminating seven of the world\u2019s top-20 doubles players during their fairytale run, the pair secured their maiden Grand Slam title by\u00a0defeating world No. 36 Jan Zielinski (POL)\u00a0and World No. 40 Hugo Nys (MON) in straight sets,\u00a06-4 7-6(4).<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were just happy to be in the draw, to be honest,\u201d Hijikata said. \u201cWe looked at our draw, we were like, \u2018Geez, if we could win one match or so, that would be a pretty good effort\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a ridiculous two weeks \u2026 I can\u2019t really believe this just happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old\u2019s Australian Open Singles debut also started off strong. Recovering from two-sets down, Hijikata made a remarkable comeback and secured a victory against Yannick Hanfmann\u00a0(GER) 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I don\u2019t really know how to put it into words,\u201d said an elated Hijikata. \u201cIt was crazy out there. It\u2019s definitely the craziest match I\u2019ve ever played in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the dream debut came to an end in round two at the hands of World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE).<\/p>\n
Hijikata\u2019s tennis journey started at the age of three and ever since, the Epping superstar has been making waves in the tennis community. \u00a0A former King\u2019s Boy, Rinky spent many hours on court with his father Mac and trained at the NSW National Academy based at Sydney Olympic Park, building his base for his professional career.\u00a0 It was fitting to have his childhood coach courtside with him Jarrad Bunt, who is now the coach of Jason Kubler.<\/p>\n
The Australian Open Doubles Champion is back in action this week and will headline at the Burnie International as the second seed. Hijikata will take on fellow Aussie, Blake Ellis today in the second round.<\/p>\n