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| 25 Jan 2003 | |
| Home advantage, Aussie girls claim doubles crown |
By Eleanor Preston
Casey Dellacqua and Adriana Szili scored a home success in the Australian Open girls’ doubles final, winning the title after their opponents, Czech girls Petra Cetkovska and Barbora Strycova were forced to default after Cetkovska fell injured.
The Australian pair was already firmly in the driving seat when Cetkovska twisted an ankle. With the scoreline standing at 6-3, 4-4 the Czech decided she would not be able to continue. "I saw her hopping around during the point but I really didn’t think she would retire," said Szili. "It’s a shame that it had to end that way but I feel pretty confident that we would have won anyway."
They only teamed up after a last minute injury to Dellacqua’s usual partner Tiffany Welford and so the win came as a pleasant surprise. Dellacqua said the win would do wonders for both their careers.
"I reckon it’s huge to win here," she said. "This is really a new beginning for us in lots of ways. In Australia we tend to see ourselves as the underdogs and the Europeans as the favourites, so for us to go out and win our first Grand Slam final it gives us confidence to compete with all the other pairs in the world."
In the boys’ doubles, Americans Scott Oudsema and Phillip Simmonds scored a shock 6-4, 6-4 win over last year’s ITF World Juniors Doubles champions Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau (ROM).
"It’s something else to win a Grand Slam title," said Simmonds. "We didn’t know if we could do it or not. For me it’s out of this world."
Photographs by Ron Angle
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