Gadecki/Peers, Kubler/Polmans and Birrell/Gibson headline Aussie doubles wins

Marc Polmans and Jason Kubler look to go on a deep doubles run at Melbourne Park. (Getty/Lintao Zhang)

Wildcard pairings Olivia Gadecki and John Peers, Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans and Kim Birrell and Talia Gibson have all booked their spots in the quarter-finals of the doubles draws at Melbourne Park, capping off a strong Australian doubles contingent.

Defending champions Gadecki and Peers opened up on Margaret Court Arena on Sunday and showed instant chemistry to take the first set against seasoned mixed doubles veterans Laura Siegemund and Edouard Roger-Vasselin before their opponents fought back to take the second. Gadecki and Peers played some inspired tennis in the tiebreak to take the lead and sealed the win, booking a spot in the quarters against Krunic/Pavic, who beat two all-Aussie teams on the way to the quarters: Gibson/Ebden and Joint/Romios.

"We had a great match today. John and I played really well. We went out there, played our game," said Gadecki.

"Our opponents came out really, really well, too. And, I don't know, I just thought we competed well and did what we did best. Just gelled and see what the outcome was. But it was a good match."

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Kubler and Polmans won the all-Aussie affair against James McCabe and Li Tu to become the only Australians in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.

"Think it was a good-quality match. I think playing against James and Li, they are great singles players, let alone doubles players. I thought the tennis was quite a good level," said Polmans.

"Thankfully, Jason and I were able to get one break in each set, which was the deciding factor.

"I mean, we found it tough to return James' serve, so we had a few sniffs of breaks on Li's serve, but it was a nice day. Our previous match we played at night, so it was nice to be back playing during the day. The crowd was awesome, too."

Birrell and Gibson, who defeated Italian No.2 seeds Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani in the previous round, continued their inspired run with a comeback victory over Kristina Mladenovic and Guo Hanyu, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. The Aussie pair will face Vera Zvonareva and Ena Shibahara in the quarter-finals.

Maya Joint and Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs fell in the mixed doubles, while Hunter also fell in the mixed to Taylor Townsend and Nikola Mektic.

"It was pretty brutal scheduling, to be honest. We spent all day here yesterday with that heat rule, and then had to back it up today. So I think I got home at 11pm and then was here at 8am this morning, so it was a bit tough, but we played a really good match," said Hunter.

With that said, despite the losses, Hunter was extremely positive about her extraordinary month of tennis, exceeding her expectations, especially in singles.

"Definitely not what I expected coming into the United Cup in Sydney, and I know once I kind of have tomorrow off to kind of reflect and look back, I think it's pretty cool what I've been able to achieve," she said.

"The last six months were incredibly difficult, returning from my Achilles, and then also just finding my way back on the board in singles and doubles, and, I really have had to fight really hard with myself, and just try to find my level again, work really hard to work through that, and I'm really proud of myself the way I've been able to turn my mentality around."

Gadecki/Peers will face Arevalo/Pavić while Kubler/Polmans will face Doumbia/Reboul later today on Margaret Court Arena.

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