Ugly truth behind Aussie doubles final debacle; Djokovic injury concerns build — Open LIVE

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A sad sight has emerged amid the Mixed Doubles final at the Australian Open, as four Aussies lock horns to take out the format’s title, as well as $175,000 AUD.

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In the Melbourne sun on Friday afternoon, Kimberley Birrell and John-Patrick Smith have been tasked with defeating country counterparts Olivia Gadecki and John Peers on Rod Laver Arena for the ultimate prize; a Grand Slam trophy.

But as the former pair took out the first set 6-3, it became abundantly clear that nowhere near as many people would see the final as fans had hoped.

Tennis fans with a ground pass access were hopeful of being able to fill out Rod Laver Arena for the match, but instead, only ticket holders to the first men’s semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. It means that as Gadecki and Peers came back to claim the second set 6-4 and force the match into a 10-point super tie-breaker, observers were barely scattered across the 14,820-seat arena.

The Rod Laver Arena crowd for the all-Australian Mixed Doubles final was extremely bare (Source: X)Source: Twitter

It was Gadecki and Peers who eventually took home the grand prize in the super tie-breaker, winning 10-6. The win is Peers’ second Grand Slam title in the format, having previously won the 2022 US Open alongside then-partner Storm Sanders. At 22 years of age, this is Gadecki’s first ever Grand Slam title.

While ground passes for today are just $35, there is no doubt that Melbourne Park would go a long way to packing out Rod Laver Arena if fans were allowed into the normally exclusive court, before clearing out for the first of two men’s semi finals today.

Taking to the court after the Mixed Doubles final is Djokovic, who comes into his Australian Open semi-final under an all-too-familiar injury cloud as the 24-time slam champion prepares to battle world No.2 Zverev.

Djokovic cancelled a planned public training session with young Aussie Hayden Jones on Thursday, with the Court 16 hit-out cancelled just before its planned 2pm start.

The No.7 seed battled through an upper leg or groin issue in his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, with his movement limited at times and a lengthy off-court medical timeout required.

It got to the point, Djokovic claimed, that he would have considered retiring hurt if he had trailed two sets to none.

“The medication started to kick in, and they helped,” Djokovic said post-match.

“To be honest, if I lost that second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better.”

However Djokovic’s use of medical time-outs as a tactic has been questioned throughout his career.

Alcaraz mocks injured Djokovic | 00:35

Djokovic flagged cancelling a training session on Wednesday but had been optimistic about practicing on Thursday.

“The extra day with no match comes at a good time,” he said in his press conference.

“Yeah, as I said on the court, I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up. I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio today, tomorrow, the next few days. Probably skip training tomorrow. I’ll see if I’m going to train in two days or not.

“I’ll take it day by day. Now it’s really about recovery. I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But if I manage somehow to, yeah, be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally I’m as motivated as I can be.”

He faces Alex Zverev, who lost from two sets up in last year’s semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, not before 2:30pm on Rod Laver Arena.

The winner’s opponent in the final will be determined in the night session, when defending champion Jannik Sinner faces big-serving young American Ben Shelton.

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Earlier in the day Aussies are in action with two locals guaranteed to win the mixed doubles crown.

A pair of wildcard teams are facing off as Kim Birrell and John-Patrick Smith battle Olivia Gadecki and John Peers on centre court.

Meanwhile Australia’s junior girls world No.1 Emerson Jones is trying to make a second consecutive Australian Open final, and plays fourth seed Wakana Sonobe in the last four.

Follow Day 13 of the Australian Open live below!

AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 13 ORDER OF PLAY (All times AEDT)

Men’s Singles Semi-Finals and other notable matches

Rod Laver Arena

Day session from 12pm

Mixed Doubles Final: [WC] Kim Birrell and John-Patrick Smith (AUS) vs [WC] Olivia Gadecki and John Peers (AUS)

Not before 2:30pm

No.7 Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs No.2 Alex Zverev (GER)

Not before 7:30pm

No.1 Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs No.21 Ben Shelton (USA)

1573 Arena

From 12:30pm

Junior Girls Singles Semi-Final: No.1 Emerson Jones (AUS) vs No.4 Wakana Sonobe (JPN)

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