John Peers and Storm Sanders' long-held plan to team up on the doubles court proved worth the wait at the US Open, where the Australian pair defeated Kirsten Flipkens and Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Saturday to lift the mixed doubles title at the hard-court Grand Slam.
Peers and Sanders held their nerve in a Match Tie-break to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 final victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The fourth seeds were making their debut as a team this fortnight and they dropped just two sets all tournament to surge to the title in New York.
“I can’t believe we are Grand Slam champions, that’s crazy,” said Sanders when addressing Peers at the trophy presentation. “So, thank you so much for playing with me. We’ve been trying to set it up for the past year and I really enjoyed every moment on court with you.”
“Stormy, we got one! Well done,” said Peers to his title-winning partner. “It’s been a pleasure this week and a lot of fun, so hopefully we’ve got a few more coming up at some point.”
Storm Sanders and John Peers capture the #USOpen mixed doubles title! pic.twitter.com/JkOOxyTWtB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2022Peers and Sanders had been under pressure early in the championship match after dropping a first set in which they let slip three break point opportunities against Belgian-French duo Flipkens and Roger-Vasselin. The Australian pair made no mistake in the second set, decisively breaking in the 10th game to level proceedings.
A to-and-fro Match Tie-break ultimately went the way of Peers and Sanders after they won five of the final six points in the match, with a huge Peers ace down the middle sealing an 86-minute win. The fourth seeds were solid on delivery throughout, winning 83 per cent (34/41) of points behind their first serves.
“Congrats Flipper and Eddie on a really great two weeks,” said Sanders to Flipkens and Roger-Vasselin, who were playing together at a Grand Slam for the second time. “Today could have gone either way, so well done and good luck for the rest of the year.”
It is a first mixed doubles Grand Slam title for both Peers and Sanders. Peers, who is currently No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings, also won the 2017 Australian Open men’s doubles title alongside Henri Kontinen.