Ullyett and Hantuchova win mixed doubles

Zimbabwe's Kevin Ullyett and Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova enjoyed a perfect ending to their first tournament together when they won the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The unseeded pair only met a month ago and didn't even practice together before their first match but they claimed the title with a 6-3 6-2 win over Argentine duo Gaston Etlis and Paola Suarez.

It was their first title together but the second career Grand Slam win in six months for each of them.

Ullyett won the 2001 U.S. Open men's doubles with his countryman Wayne Black while Hantuchova won the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown with Czech Leos Friedl.

Hantuchova also reached the women's doubles final here with Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario but lost to the "Spice Girls" pairing of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova.

"I'm so happy to win especially after losing the women's final," Hantuchova said.

Ullyett, 29, and Hantuchova, 18, met during a training camp in Cape Town last month and Ullyett was so impressed by the striking teenager's form that he invited her to play mixed doubles in Melbourne.

"She was kicking my butt in singles so I asked her about doubles," Ullyett said.

"There was a long list but I did well in a tournament in Adelaide a few weeks ago so I jumped the queue."

The pair said they would play together at this year's remaining grand slam tournaments but Hantuchova's goal was to improve her singles ranking.

Ullyett, who has a golf handicap of four and loves to snowboard in his spare time, gave up singles a year ago.