Ostapenko/Kichenok top Zhang/Mladenovic to win U.S. Open women's doubles title

Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok won their first Grand Slam doubles title without dropping a set after easing past Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in straight-sets during the U.S. Open on Friday.

Ostapenko's forehand winner broke Zhang to open a one-point lead in the opener. Ukraine's Kichenok then found the net on serve and Zhang and Mladenovic trailed 4-3. But China's Zhang continued to struggle on serve and her opponents took the first set 6-4.

Frenchwoman Mladenovic landed a break to start the second. But they lost their momentum and after a smash at the net, Kichenok's team led 5-3.

Latvia's Ostapenko found the net on match point to keep Zhang and Mladenovic in the contest. But Ostapenko eventually closed out the match 6-4, 6-3. 

Ostapenko and Kichenok won their first Grand Slam doubles title as a team.

After Zhang put the defeat down to lack of playing time with Mladenovic, both are proud of their performance after entering the tournament unseeded.

"We need to see that we are progressing as we have a low ranking and are unseeded. Unlike other pairs who have partnered for at least a year, or even three to four years, we haven't cooperated for a long time as we only played three matches in Toronto," Zhang said.

"I am quite surprised to have such performance. I accepted the result calmly but I don't think this result is the end. On the contrary, this is a starting point. I think this US Open journey is quite meaningful to me," she added.

Mladenovic was happy with their performance and she is confident the Chinese-French duo will go on to achieve more success at future events.

"I think we both respect each other very much and I appreciate her so much. I think she is an amazing player and I am so happy we share the court together and play together now," Mladenovic said.

"For the Gram Slam, we are back together and I think it was an amazing result. Hopefully, better luck next time and we can win more trophies."