Aussie wildcard duo Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata WIN Australian Open doubles

Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata have ensured that an Australian Open trophy remains in local hands, scoring a stunning two-set victory in the men’s doubles final.

With singles champion Ash Barty retiring and Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis unable to defend their 2022 doubles crown due to injury, Kubler and Hijikata have flown the flag, beating Monaco’s Hugo Nys and Poland’s Jan Zielinski 6- 4 7-6 (7-4) in Saturday night’s decider.

The men’s match did not start at Rod Laver Arena until after 11 pm and the women’s singles final was extended to three sets.

Rinky Hijikata (left) and Jason Kubler (right) won the Australian Open doubles on Saturday.

But many home fans stayed at Melbourne Park to watch the improbable win.

Playing together for the first time, the home wild cards battled their way through the draw to reach the title match, eliminating three top 10 seeds, including top-ranked Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, in the quarterfinals.

Nys and Zielinski were also playing in their first Grand Slam final and only became linked as a couple last March.

However, they did win the Metz trophy last season and reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.

The Australian duo won 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in Saturday night’s decider, which began after 11 p.m.

The two underdogs won over Australia’s sports fans after entering the tournament on a wild card only, before going all the way to Melbourne Park.

Hugo Nys (left) and Jan Zielinski (right) were overwhelmed with emotions after the match.

Showing no signs of nervousness, the Aussies broke Zielinski’s serve to nil early in the first set.

Kubler himself served well throughout, while 21-year-old Hijikata, eight years younger than his partner, was outstanding at net.

They both outplayed their opponents from the back of the court to cheer on their fans.

Kubler broke through on serve to tie it at 6-6 in the second set, sending it into a tiebreaker.

Former junior world No. 1 Kubler sent down a searing forehand to go ahead 5-4 and with three championship points won the title on an error after a chaotic final point.

No Australian pairing since legendary Woodies Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde won the men’s doubles Open in a quarter of a century until last year.

Now Kubler and Hijikata have repeated the heroics of the wild cards of the ‘Special Ks’, Kyrgios and Kokkinakis.

Australians hold two of the four men’s Grand Slam doubles trophies.

After losing last year’s Australian Open final to Kyrgios and Kokkinakis, Max Purcell and Matt Ebden won Wimbledon six months later.