A first-time pairing of Serb, Nenad Zimonjic, and China’s vivacious Tiantian Sun worked magic at the Rod Laver Arena on the Australian open 2008 final Sunday afternoon. Buoyed by spectacular service dominance, the energetic fifth seeded team thrilled the fans and surprised the field by rising to many challenges and cruising to the year’s first Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Championship in straight sets over India’s imposing Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza.

The 2008 Mixed Doubles Title marks Zimonjic’s 19th Men’s Doubles or Mixed Doubles professional title. Sun credited her Serbian partners experience in calming her early jitters and steadying her play in the key first set. The unlikely pairing put two experienced doubles players together and was arranged by coach Sandon Stolle, who was complimentary of the team chemistry that garnered strong crowd support.

The match took just 81 minutes but provided inspired play and thunderous ovations from the packed arena. A tense and topsy-turvy first set put Zimonjic and Sun in position to capitalize on several unforced errors. After seven years on the professional circuit and 5 years in Grand Slam events, Sun was elated with her first Grand Slam crown. Zimonjic graciously pointed to Sun’s stalwart and cat-like net play as the key to victory. In reality, after a rocky start, the pair served magnificently in claiming the title. Both players held key service games in the pivotal first set and the pair seemed to grow in confidence and efficiency as the match unfolded.

In the early going, the champions sprung to a quick 3-1 advantage only to fall behind at 3-4. Zimonjic rose to the occasion and used his experience to finish off a crucial break in the pivotal eighth game. The champions applied pressure for the remained of the first set but could not convert several set points until the 7-4 tie-breaker.

At the start of the tie-break, Bhupathi and Mirza spurted to a quick 3-0 lead before a 6-0 run was mounted by the champions. After a Bhupathi hold, Zimonjic served the first set out and shared a brief celebratory moment with Sun that spoke volumes about their newfound chemistry. The effervescent Tiantian rose to even higher energy levels in the second set as the champions broke through in the first game of the final set.

Although experienced as a tour and Grand Slam contestant, the 26 year old, 5 foot 9 inch Sun, a native of Henan, China, has not achieved much singles acclaim and has usually focused on her forte’ Women’s Doubles. Sun, the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist in Women’s Doubles, jumped quickly at the opportunity to team up with her more highly regarded mixed doubles partner. Although the team will not be paired again until Wimbledon, the feeling is that this is a team to be reckoned with down the road. Sun has never survived the second round of any Grand Slam singles event. The gritty right-hander is currently ranked 17th in Women’s Doubles and is the 258th ranked women’s singles player. But, in the 2008 Australian Open, she found her game with the help of her esteemed Serbian partner.

And, what a tournament it was for Serbia! Inspired by visible flag support and demonstrative fans, the Serbian players challenged the field on all fronts. With Novak Djokovic championing the Men’s Singles and Ana Ivanovic claiming the Women’s runner-up title, the wildly enthusiastic Serbian spectators boisterously roared their approval. The enthusiasm was not lost on Zimonjic, who seized the opportunity after hard-fought and tense quarter-final and semi-final upsets.

The 31 year old, 6 foot 3 inch 200 pounder started aggressively in all the team’s matches. Zimonjic seemed to relish his role as captain and playing coach as the champions overtook top seeded Cara Black and Australia’s Paul Hanley in a spectacular three set quarter final triumph before overcoming the third-seeded entry of Zi Yan and Mark Knowles in two sets. After these stirring victories, Zimonjic and Sun seemed poised for the title.

Their Indian counterparts, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza rode an unseeded wave to the finals knocking off eighth seeded Nathalie Dechy and Israel’s Andy Ram in a ferociously contested two set semi-final match. With six Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles on his resume, the experienced Bhupathi had his eye on the Australian Crown. However, the runner-up pair’s inability to force errors and pressure the opposing service games spelled their downfall. Bhupathi and Mirza only won 19 of 61 receiving points and have targeted that statistic as the most revealing area for future improvement.

The final match featured only six double faults, but five were from Mirza and Bhupathi. Of the ten unforced errors, the runner-ups committed seven, while the champions were opportunistic capturing four of the match’s five service breaks. Sun-Zimonjic won 69 points as Mirza-Bhupathi won 58.

As the match neared completion, Tiantian Sun captivated the crowd with her contagious smile and peppy energy level. Nicknamed the “pocket rocket” by her adoring fans, Tiantian reminded all spectators of the pure joy of well played tennis. During post-match interviews, Sun remarked that she viewed mixed doubles as a “fun” event and that she primarily plays to relieve the stress of her heavy women’s doubles schedule. Her exuberance brought much to the Australian open and she will be remembered as “the engine that could” by her appreciative fans.

Gracious in victory, Sun credited Zimonjic’s court presence and strength as the key factors in their triumph. Zimonjic brought a confidence to the court that allowed Sun to play her best tennis in two years. The champions left center court to cheering fans anxious to see them continue their partnership in Australian open 2009.