Overjoyed Taiwanese pair Chan Yung-jan (
The unseeded duo fended off second seeds Yan and Zheng 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 23 minutes and will play third seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber of South Africa for the title today.
Chan said it felt extra special because they dumped out the defending Australian Open champions after Zheng and Yan had beaten them in the Asian Games final in Doha last month.
PHOTO: AFP
"We lost to them in the Asian Games final and this is revenge for that," smiled the 17-year-old, who got a phone call from her excited mother in Taipei as she soaked up the applause on Margaret Court Arena. "This is the second time we have played them and we knew a bit more about their game."
"Winning in straight sets is an extra bonus. We are very excited because it is a big surprise," she said.
Chuang, who is ranked 177th in the world, said the key to their success at Melbourne Park was being relaxed and having fun.
"We are just trying to be relaxed and have fun and it looks like it is working," she said, adding that they are getting a lot of support from back home.
"Lots of people are watching. Maybe we will go home as heroes," she said.
They have never played Black and Huber before but have watched some of their matches here.
"We will do the same as we have been doing here, just trying to do our best and have fun," added Chan, who had her best season last year, finishing in the top 100 for the first time at 96.
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