Tennis · International
Ferreira and Leach win Australian Open final with 18–16 deciding set
Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach won the 2000 Australian Open men’s doubles championship, defeating Wayne Black and Andrew Kratzmann 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 18–16 in Melbourne on 29 January.
2000-01-29 – 2000-01-29 · Melbourne
Event date:
The result
Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach won the 2000 Australian Open men’s doubles championship, defeating Wayne Black and Andrew Kratzmann 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 18–16 in Melbourne on 29 January. The South African-American pair secured the title only after the deciding set extended to 34 games.
The competition
The four regulation-length sets alternated between the teams, leaving neither partnership able to close the final before a fifth set. Ferreira and Leach won the first and third sets, while Black and Kratzmann answered in the second and fourth. The eventual two-game margin in the fifth set resolved a final that was level at two sets apiece.
The wider context
The championship placed Ferreira and Leach on the Australian Open’s official men’s doubles honour roll. Leach had previously won the Melbourne title with Jim Pugh in 1988 and 1989, while the 1999 champions had been Jonas Björkman and Patrick Rafter. The 2000 result was a separate Grand Slam doubles title, decided by the partnership rather than the senior singles standings.
Sources
Check the original record.
Open the governing body or organiser’s publication for the underlying result, decision or tournament update.