Aussie wildcards stun No.1 seeds to headline AO doubles results

Li Tu and James McCabe. (Getty/Morgan Hancock)

Wildcards Li Tu and James McCabe have pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far, stunning the No.1 seeds in men's doubles, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, 7-6(5) 6-4, to headline a strong contingent of doubles results on Day 6 at the Australian Open.

Cash and Glasspool broke early, then failed to serve out the first set, with the Aussies harnessing the energy of an electric crowd at ANZ Arena to take the tiebreak. The Aussies then hit some flashy returns at the end of the second set to secure the crucial break before serving the match out comfortably to secure a monumental upset.

"We really believed in our own ability, and just went out there and just really enjoyed it," said McCabe.

"We thought we were going to get steamrolled in the second set after going a break down in the first. So, we were just happy to get that break back, and then we just went on from there and just, yeah, one thing led to another, and then we ended up with the win."

"I thought we actually started pretty good," said Glasspool. "It was going as planned with a break. And then just turned into a bit of a dogfight. They've got big serves, and we just didn't execute what we needed to do."

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Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios secured his first win of the tournament alongside Leylah Fernandez in a dramatic match against Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski. Fernandez and Kyrgios looked the stronger pair throughout the match, with chances on their opponents' serves in most games, but Krawczyk and Skupski held their nerve to take the first set tiebreak before Kyrgios and Fernandez broke late to take the second set.

The Aussie-Canadian pair were down 9-6 in the tiebreak but came to life at just the right time, with Fernandez sealing the win with a backhand return winner down the line.

"It was just a lot of fun. Nick brought the great energy, and also the crowd," said Fernandez.

"I mean, look, I have played a lot of matches at the AO, and I guess at this part of my career, I don't take any match for granted, even if it's doubles like last night or mixed. That was some of the craziest energy that I've had," said Kyrgios.

The pair revealed that Fernandez's dad had approached Kyrgios in Brisbane to initiate the pairing.

"It was Brisbane. I remember the night before, my dad and I were talking, and we said, 'Wouldn't it be cool if Nick and I played doubles together?' We were just talking like that, as jokingly a little bit. And I feel like my dad took the initiative and went up to Nick before your practice. Nick was nice enough to say yes."

Skupski and Krawczyk, who played mixed doubles with Kyrgios in 2019, were disappointed with the loss but relished the energy of the crowd, even if they were against the pair.

"I thought we played pretty well in the first set. It was a good atmosphere. Second set, no one really got broken until me in the 10th game. And then, obviously, in the match tiebreak, we had our chances to win the match, and we didn't close it out, and it seems like the crowd were very happy with the end result," said Skupski.

Krawczyk added: "Obviously the crowd here, it was a great crowd for both of us. I mean, that's not something we're used to as doubles players. So I think you had to embrace that."

J.P. Smith also secured a huge win alongside Adam Pavlásek over the in-form ninth seeds Francisco Cabral and Lucas Miedler. Smith always has a raucous crowd of college friends supporting him in Australia, and this match was no exception, with a crazy atmosphere at ANZ Arena as they sealed the match.

"I got a bunch of college friends in the crowd, from Tennessee, you know, people from high school, primary school, coming out, so I love being here, and I love the energy everyone brings here in Melbourne," said Smith.

"I am so proud that I can be on the corner with an Aussie player and have the crowd cheering for us. It makes me super happy," said Pavlásek.

In the mixed doubles, Storm Hunter and Hugo Nys secured victory over Cabral and Ellen Perez, while Perez and Demi Schuurs earned a win in doubles.

There were some losses for Australians around the grounds as well, with Daria Kasatkina and Arina Rodionova losing in the latter's last Australian Open, while Taylah Preston and Lizette Cabrera also fell. Matt Ebden lost alongside Rajeev Ram in men's doubles, while Maddison Inglis/Jason Kubler and Cruz Hewitt/Preston lost in mixed doubles.

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