Melbourne, Australia: American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic won the Australian Open women's doubles title in their first tournament as a combination, beating Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan and China's Zheng Jie 6-4, 7-6 (5) in Friday's final.
It marked the first time a new pairing has won a Grand Slam title since Nathalie Dechy of France and Russia's Dinara Safina took the 2007 U.S. Open title.
Chan and Zheng twice served for the second set. Mattek-Sands clinched the match with a backhand to the open court in the tiebreaker.
Mattek-Sands, who received treatment on her right hamstring several times during the match, won the 2012 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Horia Tecau of Romania.
