With billionaire Bill Gates cheering from the stands, hometown wildcards Olivia Gadecki and John Peers broke a 37-year drought when they became the first pairing to defend their Australian Open mixed doubles crown in thrilling fashion.
Buoyed by a parochial Melbourne Park audience on Friday, which included Peers' mate Gates, the Australians played catch-up for most of their final against French duo Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard, before finishing with a flourish to prevail 4-6 6-3 [10-8].
Gadecki and Peers looked in trouble when they fell behind 5-7 in the match tiebreak before they peeled off five of the last six points.
Gadecki was particularly strong from the ground in the clutch, while the French pair tightened with the finish line in sight.
The Aussies moved ahead 8-7 when Mladenovic sprayed a long return, before Peers' crushing return made it 9-7 for two championship points.
The French duo saved one of them, before the back-to-back triumph was sealed when first-time Grand Slam finalist Guinard's return of Peers' second serve crashed into the net.
Gates — the renowned American businessman, philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder — and his partner Paula Hurd are friends with Peers, who befriended Paula's ex-husband, the late Mark Hurd, while attending Baylor University in Texas.
Mark Hurd was a former Baylor student and tennis scholar in the late 1970s, before helping develop the school's tennis facility while Peers was playing tennis and studying finance there.
"Yeah, he was out there," Peers confirmed of Gates' attendance. "We saw him literally just before we walked on court. They (Gates and Paula Hurd) were in the crowd there, and they've always been great supporters. It was good to see them again and I'll catch up with them later."
Gadecki and Peers became the first duo to win consecutive AO mixed doubles titles since Jana Novotna and Jim Pugh in 1988-89.
They also became the first Australians to go back-to-back at their home Slam since Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher achieved the feat in 1963-64.
"Just as good as last year, if not better," Gadecki said when asked how it feels. "It's pretty incredible to be back-to-back Grand Slam winners. Even saying that out loud is crazy. I'm still trying to comprehend it."
Peers remained in a state of disbelief after the triumph.
"A bit shocked," he said. "That could have gone either way. To be honest, I'm just happy that we kept sticking at it."
It was Peers' third Grand Slam mixed doubles crown, after also winning the US Open 2022 with Storm Sanders.
Peers won the AO 2017 men's doubles with Finland's Henri Kontinen, and collected a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, partnering Matthew Ebden.
On that occasion, Gates was cheering the Aussies on against his own countrymen, US pair Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.
"It was nice," Peers said. "He didn't feel as awkward this time because it wasn't against Americans. It was good."
The 37-year-old Melburnian was broken in the opening game and again in the fifth, as Mladenovic's returns and Guinard's net attacks gave the French pair control early,
The Aussies saved a couple of set points before Mladenovic and Guinard took the opening set in 39 minutes when Peers' backhand return off Guinard slewed wide.
The local hopes were able to take advantage of Mladenovic's off-colour serving in the second, while Peers rediscovered his radar on the forehand side.
Peers pumped his fist and revved up the crowd when he held to love for 4-1, before squaring the contest by finishing the 36-minute second set with an ace.
Both Australians struggled to land a first serve early in the match tiebreak before holding their nerve in style down the stretch.
"Today was my 17th Grand Slam final, but you still have to come out and execute your shots," Mladenovic said.
"Obviously this one hurts because it's just a matter of a few points."
Guinard agreed.
"The margin is very thin," he said. "It was just a couple points that maybe we could have done better. They played really well in the important points. We have to learn from this and be better next time."