MELBOURNE, Australia - Elena Bovina and
Nenad Zimonjic, teaming for the first time,
defeated defending champions Martina Navratilova and
Leander Paes on Sunday to win the Australian Open
mixed doubles title.
Russian right-hander
Bovina and Zimonjic, from Serbia-Montenegro, ended
Navratilova's hopes of a 10th Grand Slam mixed doubles
title with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) center-court victory in 1 hour,
9 minutes.
Navratilova, seeded fourth with Paes, has said she will
retire from tournament play at the end of the year.
Bovina, a mixed doubles finalist at the French Open (news
- web sites) in 2002, was thrilled with their
breakthrough Grand Slam triumph.
"When I was a junior my coach made us bury all the
trophies for second and third place," the 20-year-old
Bovina said. "I really wanted to keep this one
today, so I really tried.
"It's just great to get a trophy. Doesn't matter if
it's singles, doubles, mixed doubles. It's first place,
it's fantastic for me."
She said it was the first time she and Zimonjic had
teamed together, and "I think we did pretty good."
Zimonjic, 27, said he had left a note with WTA Tour
officials before the tournament seeking a partner, and
that Bovina had responded.
"I'd like to thank you guys for finding a great
partner for me," he said.
Zimonjic, ranked No. 33 in doubles and with seven titles
to his credit, paid tribute to Navratilova, before
adding, "You've had enough wins."
Zimonjic had also teamed with Paes to win the Delray
Beach doubles title last year.
Navratilova has won 167 singles titles and 173 in doubles.
She has a total of 58 Grand Slam championships.
Paes was continuing his comeback from a five-month layoff
due to a nonmalignant brain lesion. He was treated for
the last four months of the year in Orlando, Fla., after
tests in August revealed that he had neurocysticercosis,
a parasitic infection that causes a brain abscess.
Navratilova had claimed a record-tying 20th Wimbledon (news
- web sites) title last year by winning the mixed doubles
with Paes, as well as their Australian title last year.
"It's a real treat to play with you," Paes said
to Navratilova. "We came up a bit short today, but
playing with you has been a joy and a blessing."
Navratilova was satisfied with the effort she and Paes
gave.
"We almost pulled it off," Navratilova said of
almost taking the second set. "You want to go down
swinging and fighting and we did that. It was nice we
mounted a short comeback but it was a shame we couldn't
sustain it.
"I'm not saying goodbye to playing tennis, I'm just
saying goodbye to hitting the ball here. I've still got a
whole year to go."
Ever the competitor, Navratilova, who has won a total of
58 grand-slam titles, could not hide her disappointment.
“I really wanted to go out on a winning note,”
she said.
“Losing in a final really stinks — it’s
almost better to lose earlier. But at the same time, it’s
nice to be on that stage and be able to say goodbye
properly. We went down fighting, at least. I’m sure
they will be playing for the rest of the year now as they
make a good team. It’s hard to get the ball by them,
and they served very well.”
.
An interview with:
ELENA BOVINA and NENAD ZIMONJIC
Q. What does the trophy mean to you and the country
you're coming from?
ELENA BOVINA: Well, I don't know if it means as much as,
you know, to Nenad, that's for sure, because we have lot
of players that bring all kinds of trophies. For me
personally, it's great. I've been in the finals once of
the Grand Slam of mixed doubles but never won.
You know, it's just great to get a trophy. Doesn't matter
if it's singles, doubles, mixed doubles. You know, it's
first place. You know, just fantastic for me.
Q. The second set when you were leading 4-3, you lost,
were you worried about it at that time?
ELENA BOVINA: What do you think, was I worried (laughter)?
You know, I wasn't worried. I knew that we were like
pretty much in control of the match. But they just played
a great game. Maybe I didn't serve as great as I did in
the previous games. But, you know, it's good that we
stayed positive and we kept fighting. I mean, basically I
knew if we would get to the tiebreak, we would win the
match.
You know, there was no doubt in my mind that we would
finish the match. It was a matter of when we going to
finish.
Q. In the future are you still going to play with Nenad?
ELENA BOVINA: Well, if he won't be against it, then we
will probably play, yeah.
NENAD ZIMONJIC: So far perfect.
ELENA BOVINA: 100%.
Q. Your next tournament is where?
ELENA BOVINA: I go to Europe, I play in France and
Belgium, indoors.
