'Absolutely amazing'
Adams, de Swardt win mixed doubles title
Posted: Saturday February 13, 1999 05:05 PM
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The victory gave David Adams and Mariaan de Swardt their first grand slam title AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN/SI) -- Mariaan de Swardt and David Adams each clinched their first grand slam title Sunday as they won the Australian Open mixed doubles championship, beating Serena Williams and Max Mirnyi 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
The victory ended the grand slam run of Williams and Mirnyi. The 17-year-old Williams and Mirnyi, a 21-year-old from Belarus, had won the mixed titles last year at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Serena's sister Venus had won the two other slams with Justin Gimelstob.
A crosscourt volley by de Swardt saved a match point when Adams was serving at 4-5 in the final set. She also gave the duo a 5-1 lead in the deciding tiebreaker with a sharp-angled backhand recovery that flashed past Mirnyi at the net.
The South African pair won the 2-hour, 21-minute battle when Williams batted an overhead long on their second match point.
"It was just chance that she was free and I was free" for mixed doubles at the Australian Open, said Adams, who formerly teamed with France's Alexandra Fusai.
"This is absolutely amazing. It is something you dream about, winning a grand slam final on center court, and in a tiebreaker," the 29-year-Adams said.
He explained that the pairs' strategy was to play Williams at the net. "If you could focus on her at the net, she would hit some great winners but also make some mistakes," he added.
The 27-year-old De Swardt was the only player to hold serve. Adams lost his once in the first set and once in the second, while both Mirnyi and Williams each lost serve once in the first set.
After de Swardt's remarkable backhand winner for 5-1 in the tiebreaker, she said, "I can't believe it either."
"It's something she does really well, just reacting. She has trained herself well," Adams said. "It's very good to be able to do that under such pressure."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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