No.5 seeded mixed doubles team Tiantian Sun and Nenad Zimonjic have had an interesting ride to the mixed doubles final.
Zimonjic is renowned for being a doubles specialist, having played at every Grand Slam since 1999, and last year making the semi-finals of Wimbledon and Roland Garros.
Paired with Chinese pocket-rocket Tiantian Sun, the mixed doubles combo has proved they are on track for a win today.
After cruising through the earlier rounds in straight sets, the duo hit a hurdle in the quarterfinals, playing the No.1 seeds Cara Black and Paul Hanley. Victorious, Zimonjic and Sun went on to beat No.3 seeds Zi Yan and Mark Knowles in three sets in the semifinals.
With some tough battles under their belt the two should be primed for a solid performance when they step onto Rod Laver Arena this afternoon.
Their opponents, the Indian pairing of Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi, have been in scintillating form.
After kicking off their campaign with a straight sets win over the Aussie duo of Alicia Molik and Nathan Healey, they survived a cliffhanger against the No.2 seeds Lisa Raymond and Simon Aspelin, winning a match tiebreak 10-7 to progress through to the quarterfinals.
They did not have to work to earn their semifinal berth after their quarterfinal opponents Kveta Peschke and Martin Damm were forced to withdraw from the tournament.
An impressive straight sets victory over Natalie Dechy and Andy Ram, the No.8 seeds, saw them progress to today's final.
