Romania's Horia Tecau and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands have won their first grand slam titles, taking out a tense Australian Open mixed doubles final at Melbourne Park.
Eighth-seeded Tecau and Mattek-Sands overcame a nervous second set on Sunday to beat India's doubles specialist Leander Paes and Russian Elena Vesnina 6-3 5-7 10-3 on Rod Laver Arena.
Tecau, 27, and Mattek-Sands, 26, took early control with a quick service break in the first set and were excellent on their returns of serve.
They looked set for a comfortable win, leading 6-3 4-3, before Paes and Vesnina fought back to give the Indian veteran a chance to add to the men's doubles title he won on Saturday night.
A tight service game from Mattek-Sands allowed Paes and Vesnina to level at 4-4, before the American was broken again as the tournament's fifth seeds won the set to force a match tiebreak.
