Doubles final, starting at 12pm
Kimberly Birrell/Jarmila Wolfe (AUS/AUS) v Xinyun Han/Christina McHale (CHN/USA)
Neither of these unseeded teams have lost a set so far this week, setting up an exciting final.
The Australian combination Kimberly Birrell and Jarmila Wolfe will start crowd favourites. The popular Wolfe won the singles title here in 2011, while Birrell has won a legion of new fans this week when she scored her first ever WTA Tour main draw singles win on debut.
After their semifinal win over the top seeds yesterday, Birrell admitted making the doubles final felt like a dream.
“I never thought coming into this week I would win a round of singles in the main draw and be in the final of doubles,” the 17-year-old said. “If you had of said that, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
Birrell, whose current doubles ranking is No.626, is guaranteed to slice her ranking in at least half as a result of making today’s final.
The Australian duo also have a chance to make history. No all Australian team has won the Hobart International doubles title in the event’s 23-year history. Can Birrell and Wolfe become the first?
> Read about how Birrell and Wolfe teamed up
The American and Chinese combination of Christina McHale and Xinyun Han are playing in just their second tournament together, one more than their Australian opponents.
Their previous tournament together was more than two years ago but McHale said they were enjoying their reunion.
“We just have fun on the court and I think our games complement each other well,” she said.
“We’re really looking forward to the final. It’s been a good week for us, we’ve had some good matches.”
They advanced to today’s final after semifinal opponent Johanna Larsson of Sweden withdrew with a thigh injury. Larsson and Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands were the second seeds and defending champions.
“It’s definitely not the way you want to win a match, you never want to have your opponent get hurt like that,” McHale said.
> Getting to know Christina McHale
Like Birrell, McHale and Han are also chasing their first WTA Tour doubles title. Wolfe, the 2013 Australian Open mixed doubles champion, is the most experienced doubles player on the court. She has won one WTA Tour doubles title (Stockholm in 2006) and is a four-time finalist, but is competing in her first final since 2012.
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