Kimberly Birrell’s memorable summer continues, as she and fellow Queenslander John-Patrick Smith took a step further in the Australian Open 2025 mixed doubles event.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 19 January 2025 | Matt Trollope
Queensland duo Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith have scored a big upset in the mixed doubles event to advance to the quarterfinals at AO 2025.
The wildcard pairing upset No.7 seeds Demi Schuurs and Tim Puetz 6-3 5-7 [10-8] at Margaret Court Arena, which sets up a showdown with at least one Australian at Melbourne Park.
That could be Ellen Perez, the third seed along with German partner Kevin Krawietz, or fellow wildcards Priscilla Hon and Alex Bolt.
DRAW: Australian Open 2025 mixed doubles
Hon and Bolt take on Perez and Krawietz in the last match of Monday’s schedule at 1573 Arena – with that quarterfinal place on the line.
Meanwhile, Day 8 concluded in emotional fashion at Rod Laver Arena when Luke Saville and Li Tu bowed out of the men’s doubles event.
South Australians Saville and Tu, childhood friends, fell 6-3 6-4 in the third round to Andre Goransson and Sem Verbeek.
The night match, at Rod Laver Arena, marked the last of Saville’s 13-year pro career.
It was the same court on which the former world No.1 junior contested the AO 2020 men’s doubles final with Max Purcell, his best Grand Slam result.
Birrell also remains alive in the women’s doubles event, where she and fellow Aussie Olivia Gadecki are through to the third round.
Her doubles success at Melbourne Park has been the perfect antidote to her heartbreaking singles loss, which came after she’d reached the Brisbane International quarterfinals and won through three rounds of AO 2025 qualifying.
Tallying her results across singles and doubles, Birrell has built an excellent 10-2 record during the Australian Summer of Tennis.
She has a chance to improve that further with Smith, an experienced doubles campaigner who reached the Australian Open 2019 mixed doubles final with another compatriot in Astra Sharma, and the men’s doubles quarterfinals at Melbourne Park in 2021.
“Look, the first thing in any doubles partnership is to pick a good partner, and so when Kim said yes when I asked her, I was thrilled,” Smith said on court. “I’m glad we could make it [through], and on to the next one.”
Added Birrell: “I honestly have just been enjoying every second out here with JP, and following his lead.
“Super glad that we get to come out and play again – we want to stay in Melbourne for as long as possible.”
Australian Open mixed doubles continues to be an event in which home-grown players thrive.
Since Smith and Sharma’s runner-up finish six years ago, Sam Stosur and Matt Ebden appeared in the 2021 final before Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler won through to the 2022 decider.
The last Australian champions were Ebden and Jarmila Gajdosova, in 2013.
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to hit the court and have some fun!
