:tennis: :girlkiss: :clap:
Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko have staged a remarkable comeback to win the women's doubles final at Australian Open 2008.
The Bondarenko sisters had a disastrous first set, but rallied back to defeat Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Peer 2-6 6-1 6-4 and capture their first Grand Slam title.
The matched ebbed and flowed with Azarenka and Peer looking certain to run away with the match after such a dominant effort in the first set. But the match turned early in the second set, and the sisters from Kharkov, stormed back to take the title in one hour and 54 minutes.
While the Ukrainian pair only managed two games in the first set, it could have been much closer if they had taken the two break-point chances which came their way. Azarenka and Peer took both of theirs, won the set, and looked a big chance to go on and win the trophy.
But the Bondarenkos tightened up their serve on the second, and put pressure on their rivals' service game, winning eight of the 14 receiving points for the set. That resulted in two breaks, before they served it out to level the match at a set a piece.
There were three breaks of serve early in the decider and when the Bondarenko's broke again, they led 5-2 and had the championship on their racquet. Azarenka and Peer refused to relent and broke back to keep their hopes alive. But the sisters still had a break left up their sleeve and when Peer netted a shot on match point, it was a breakthrough victory for tennis' new doubles stars.
Alona Bondarenko site
http://www.alona-bondarenko.com/