Aus Open Day 13: Aryna Sabalenka wins women's final, Aussie duo win men's doubles title

An Aussie duo has won the Australian Open men's doubles title again as Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata triumphed in wild scenes.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 29: Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler of Australia pose with the championship trophy in the Men’s Doubles Final against Hugo Nys of France and Jan Zielinski of Poland during day 13 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 29, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Against the odds, an Australian duo has won the Australian Open men's doubles title for the second year in a row.

Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata completed off their fairytale run with a 6-4 7-6 win over Hugo Nys and Jan ZIelinski that ended with an absurd match point.

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Journeyman Kubler and 21-year-old Hijikata, who took a set off Rafael Nadal at last year's US Open, had never played doubles together and entered the Australian Open as a wildcard.

But they proved a perfect pairing and looked at home in a grand slam final, with Hijikata bouncing around like an energiser bunny.

Kubler and Hijikata had the upper hand in the first set but the second set was much tighter and went to a tiebreak.

On match point, Jason Kubler showed incredible volleying reflexes at the net to keep the rally going, eventually forcing an error from the opposing pair as the ball floated long.

Aussie doubles legend Todd Woodbridge described it as "the point of the match on match point."

Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler of Australia pose with the championship trophy in the Men’s Doubles Final. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Absolute scenes. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

Kubler and Hijikata were presented with the trophy by legendary American doubles pairing Mike and Bob Bryan.

It comes 12 months after Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the Australian Open doubles title last year. 

They were known as their Special Ks but the best nickname we can come up with for this new duo is the Ice Men – for the Ice Kube (Kubler) and the Ice Rink (Hijikata).

It's the first time in 40 years that two different Australian pairings have won back-to-back Australian Open doubles titles.

John Fitzgerald and John Fitzgerald won in 1982 and were followed up by Mark Edmonson and Paul McNamee in 1983. 

Earlier, Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down to win an all-time classic women's final over Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4. 

In her first grand slam final, Sabalenka played the match of her life to beat the reigning Wimbledon champion and win her first grand slam title. 

It's a remarkable turnaround for the 24-year-old, who was taunted by the Melbourne crowd five years ago for grunting in a match against Barty, and had a severe case of the serving yips 12 months ago that threatened to derail her career.

Aryna Sabalenka receives the Australian Open trophy from Billie Jean King. Photo: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP