MELBOURNE, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu were knocked out of the women's doubles at the Australian Open in a three-set battle on Monday night.
The pair saved one match point but were ultimately beaten by Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova and Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) in a thrilling third round match.
"In doubles matches, it is really about two people and ultimately it's important how the two people perform between them," Wang told reporters after the match.
"It's a shame that we were not in good shape at the same time [during the match]," she added.
Zheng and Wang won one more point over the course of the match than their opponents, but were outplayed at critical moments in the deciding set.
In the third set, Zheng and Wang had seven break point opportunities but could not convert a single one, and over the whole match, they converted just three of 15 break point chances, compared to three of six for Rakhimova and Sorribes Tormo.
Five of Zheng and Wang's break point opportunities came in the ninth game of the 76-minute final set off the serve of Rakhimova.
The break would have given Wang the chance to serve for the match in the next game but the Russo-Spanish duo saved all five.
Serving in the 12th game, Zheng held her nerve twice in critical points - once at 30-30 and again on a match point advantage for Rakhimova and Sorribes Tormo - to hold and force a tiebreak.
In a tight tiebreak, neither team ever led by more than two points. A backhand volley winner from Zheng led to an 8-6 lead, before Rakhimova and Sorribes Tormo again elevated their play at a key moment, winning four straight points to close out the match.
They will play Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals. ■
