Nestor & Mladenovic to defend Aussie mixed doubles title
Daniel Nestor is back in the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open with French partner Kristina Mladenovic to defend their grand slam title.
Nestor and Mladenovic will take on Martina Hingis (Switzerland) and Leander Paes (India) in the final in Melbourne.
Hingis, 34, is no stranger to the Australian Open, although her legend derives from winning three-straight singles titles from 1997-99. She also won the mixed doubles title in 2006. Her partner Paes, the Indian Olympic bronze medallist in 1996, has also won the mixed doubles crown in Melbourne previously in 2003 and 2010. Hingis and Paes are seeded seventh, they overcame Hsieh Su-wei (Taipei) and Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 7-5, 6-4 in their semifinal.
Nestor & Mladenovic hold up the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy in 2014.
Canadian Olympic champ Nestor, 42, is a year older than Paes and has won the mixed doubles title in Australia three times, 2007, 2011 and most recently in 2014 with Mladenovic who is only 21, making her the youngest of the participants in the mixed final. Nestor and Mladenovic are seeded third in the tournament and also won Wimbledon together in 2013. They beat the top-seed Sania Mirza (India) and Bruno Soares (Brazil) 3-6, 6-2, 10-8 to reach the final.
The mixed doubles final takes place on Sunday, February 1.
