On January 24, Beijing time, the Australian Open entered the 8th matchday competition. In a match in the second round of the mixed doubles, China's Jinhua Zhang Shuai partnered Pierce to play, and the two ushered in the challenge of Pella and Kurchhoff. After two sets of competition, the Zhang Shuai/Pierce combination swept the opponent out and strongly reached the quarterfinals of this Australian Open mixed doubles.
In the first set, Zhang Shuai/Pierce came up to defuse three break points to save the serve, and in the second set, the two broke to take a 2-0 lead. Zhang Shuai/Pierce lost the serve in the 7th set, and then the opponent saved the serve to make it 4-4. In the 12th set, Zhang Shuai/Pierce broke in a set that the opponent had to protect and won the first set 7-5.
In the second set, Zhang Shuai/Pierce took the lead in the second set to complete the break and take a 2-0 lead. In the 4th set, the two broke the opponent's serve again, leading the opponent 4-0. In the 7th set, Zhang Shuai/Pierce served and lost the game, and the opponent chased it 2-5. In the 9th set, Zhang Shuai/Pierce did not waste a chance in the second set of the game, and won the second set 6-3 with four consecutive points.
In the end, after a fierce battle in two sets, the Zhang Shuai/Pierce combination defeated Pella/Kurkhov 7-5, 6-3 to successfully reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open mixed doubles. This is the first time that the Zhang Shuai/Pierce combination has reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Australian Open, and Zhang Shuai has also achieved the achievement of the grand slam mixed doubles all eight. In the next quarter-final match, the Zhang Shuai/Pierce combination will be against No. 8 seeds Shibahara Yingcai / McLaren.