Former Bruin Abigail Spears wins mixed doubles title at Australian Open
Former UCLA standout Abigail Spears captured the 2017 Australian Open mixed doubles title with an upset win over the No. 2-seeded team. Spears had lost two previous grand slam finals at the 2013 and 2014 US Open before securing the title in Melbourne. (Creative commons photo by Tatiana via flickr)
By TuAnh Dam
Jan. 28, 2017 10:48 p.m.
Former UCLA women’s tennis standout Abigail Spears captured the first grand slam title of her career Saturday in mixed doubles.
The former Bruin had reached two previous grand slam mixed doubles finals with Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez at the US Open in 2013 and 2014, but fell short both times.
Spears partnered with Colombia’s Juan Sebastian Cabal to take the 2017 Australian mixed doubles title with a straight-sets win over the No. 2-seeded team of India’s Sania Mirza and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig.
Congratulations Abigail #Spears and @juanscabal #AusOpen 2017 mixed doubles champions! pic.twitter.com/CfEMicCJoH
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2017
Spears, who turned professional after a one season in Westwood, and Cabal upset two teams and did not drop a set en route to the 6-2, 6-4 championship win.
