Fri Jan 25 08:05:29 2008

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Bondarenko sisters win Australian Open doubles title

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Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Ukraine's Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko came back to down 12th-seeded Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Peer 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, to win the women's doubles championship at the 2008 Australian Open on Friday.

The Bondarenko sisters rebounded from a tough first set to become the first siblings to win a Grand Slam event since Venus and Serena Williams won in Melbourne Park in 2003. They led 4-1 in the third set before their opponents battled back to within 5-4, but the siblings were able to hold on for the win.

The doubles title is the first for the Ukrainian sisters, who had never ventured beyond the semifinals of any event prior to this tournament.

Azarenka, from Belarus, failed in her bid to win her second Grand Slam doubles title, as she took the mixed doubles championship in the 2007 U.S. Open alongside compatriot Max Myrni. Peer, from Israel, saw her record alongside Azarenka fall to 9-3, with two of those losses coming in finals.