Ostapenko and Kichenok Clinch U.S. Open Women's Doubles Crown

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok won their first women's Grand Slam doubles title at the U.S. Open. They defeated Zhang Shaui and Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-3. The win follows their appearance in the final of this year's Australian Open.

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok secured their first women's Grand Slam doubles title at the U.S. Open with a commanding 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Chinese-French pairing of Zhang Shaui and Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.

Ostapenko and Kichenok set the tone early by breaking in the second game. Though their opponents fought back to level the set, the duo demonstrated resilience in a pivotal eight-deuce game, fending off five break points and taking a crucial 5-4 lead. Zhang's double fault on the second set point handed the seventh-seeded pair the opening set.

The second set saw Zhang and Mladenovic briefly gain an upper hand with an early break, but Ostapenko and Kichenok quickly regrouped. They broke Zhang for the third time to even the score at 3-3 and then broke Mladenovic at love to lead 5-3. Ostapenko sealed the victory on her serve, wrapping up an impressive performance.

(With inputs from agencies.)