Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis: On a roll, 'Santina' pair 5 matches away from creating history

 

The top-seeded pair continued their imperious form as they swept aside the Russian-Czech pair of Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-1 in the finals to clinch the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Sunday. It was their 13th title in a row.

Earlier this year, the Indo-Swiss duo won their third consecutive women’s doubles Grand Slam title by lifting the Australian Open trophy.

While the talks of a career slam have already begun, not to forget, the Indo-Swiss pair is just five matches away from breaking the world record for maximum consecutives matches won in women's doubles.

Back in 1990, the dynamic duo of Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won a whopping 44 matches in a row.

On January 13, The World No. 1 pair overcame Chen Liang and Shuai Peng 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of Sydney International Tennis tournament to equal world record set by Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva in 1994 of winning 28 consecutive matches.

Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis win 13th title, stretch winning run to 40

 

The famed Indo-Swiss pair registered an easy 6-3, 6-1 victory over the Russian-Czech team of Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy women's doubles final.

The final match, which lasted just an hour, witnessed the top-ranked players playing possibly their best tennis for some time.

This is Santina's fourth title this year. They started the year with wins in Brisbane and Sydney before completing a hat-trick of Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open.

They are now 4 wins away from equaling the all-time record of 44 set by Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova in 1990.

After their upset loss in the French Open quarter-finals, they have claimed titles at Wimbledon, US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing, the WTA Finals in Singapore, Brisbane and Sydney last year.

Argentina Open: Rafael Nadal ousted by Dominic Thiem, Nicolas Almagro beats David Ferrer

The defending champion was one point away from victory at 5-4 in the third on Thiem`s serve but the Austrian rallied, forcing a tiebreak which he controlled from the off to take the contest 6-4 4-6 7-6(4).

"It was an amazing match for me," world number 19 Thiem said.

"It was very tight from the beginning. It’s special to play against the big guys, and to beat one is a dream come true. In the third set, Nadal really stepped up but I was able to counter-attack and play incredible shots."

Spaniard Nadal`s loss was another early season setback for the 14-times grand slam champion who was dumped out of the first round of the Australian Open by unseeded compatriot Fernando Verdasco, one of the biggest shocks of the tournament.

Thiem will face another Spaniard in the final after Nicolas Almagro beat second seed and former champion David Ferrer 6-4 7-5.

It was Almagro`s first win over the world number six at the 16th time of asking and came after Ferrer had to finish his rain-delayed quarter-final earlier on Saturday.

"This is the reward for many months of hard work, but there`s no time to celebrate," Almagro said. "I have to focus on tomorrow`s match and hopefully I can play at the same level."

Nadal will head to Brazil for next week`s Rio Open where he will attempt again to reach his 100th elite final.  

Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis survive scare to enter St. Petersburg final, extend win streak to 39

The number one seeds were pushed to the limit by Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigez and Arrantxa Parra Santonja. 

After a battle that lasted nearly two hours, the Indo-Swiss pair prevailed 7-5, 6-7 and 10-6.

“The match was so long and close because we were facing very tough opponents,” said Sania after the win.

They will face Vera Dushevina and Barbora Krejcikova in the finals.

“We are to clash with an international pair who has a Russian player. But the Russian fans are fair, so we are sure we will get our share of applause” Hingis was quoted as saying by wta.formulatx.com.

Sania and Martina have now won 39 matches on the trot and are just 6 away from equaling the all-time record of 44 set by Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova in 1990.

Sania Mirza loses doubles tie in India's defeat to Japan

Ankita, India's number one singles player at 307, took the court after Prarthana Thombare had lost the opening singles.

Battling the odds, Ankita toppled the world number 56 with her 6-3 6-1 win over the Japanese number one.

Prarthana, ranked as low as 523, had lost tamely 2-6 1-6 to Eri Hozumi, placed 206, as India trailed 0-1.

Ankita though drew parity for Indian with her shock win. India, at that point, had a real chance to upset the fancied Japan with having world number one player in Sania in the team.

However, Sania and Prarthana lost 5-7 3-6 to the pairing of Shuko Aoyama and Hozumi. Aoyana was ranked as high as 31 in the doubles in 2013.

With Sania in side - who has not lost a match since US Open in 2015 and has weaved an incredible 36-match winning streak, India had a great chance to beat Japan. India have already lost to hosts Thailand 0-3 on Wednesday and now they are out of the reckoning for the Play-offs for the World Group II.

India will take on Uzbekistan in their last Group engagement tomorrow.

Talking about her memorable win against Hibino, Ankita said she was confident of putting up a good fight today.

"I had played well against Thailand yesterday. This is my first win over a top-100 player and I am one more step closer to my goal. The thing that helped me win this match is I could stay aggressive throughout the match. I have been trying to do that in the past few months," Ankita told PTI.

"I have last very close matches recently with top players. I had opportunities but could not seize those. But Sania told me how to play against the girl before my match and I was able to do that. So it was very helpful," she said.

The future of Indian sports, the stars of 2016

S Chikkarangappa (Golf): Bengaluru lad, known as Chikka, clinched his maiden Rolex Player of the Year title for the PGTI order of merit. He considers cricketer Rahul Dravid as an inspiration. 

Sumit Nagal (Tennis): A student of Mahesh Bhupathi, he won the junior men’s doubles title at the Wimbledon this year. He is clearly the future of Indian tennis.

Sarfaraz Khan (Cricket): The latest sensation who emerged from the maidans of Mumbai, Sarfaraz’s glories never seem to end. After donning the IPL jersey, now he is all set for U-19 World Cup.

Satnam Singh (Basketball): It was a proud moment for India-born Satnam Singh Bhamara after he became the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is expected to mature and stand out in the crowd, and inspire other Indian kids to take up the sport.

Robin Singh (Football): He could be India’s solution to the “Where is another Sunil Chhetri?” problem. A star player for Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League, Robin also found the net twice in India’s 2-0 win over Sri Lanka in SAFF cup.

Ranveer Singh Saini (Golf): He stamped his name in the record books after he became the first Indian to bag a gold medal at the Special Olympics World Games. The Gurgaon-based 14-year-old golfer was diagnosed with autism, a neurological disorder, at the age of 2. He started playing golf at the age of nine.

‘After Sania Mirza, the answer is blank’

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza capped off 2015 in style with the WTA Finals crown in Singapore, her ninth title of the season with Swiss Miss Martina Hingis. 

Mumbai: Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza had a dream run in the women’s doubles category in 2015. With 10 titles – including the recent WTA $7 million title in Singapore – she established her supremacy, along with Swiss partner Martina Hingis.

In a freewheeling chat with this correspondent on Tuesday, Sania, who signed up as brand ambassador along with Indian national football captain Sunil Chhetri for pain reliever brand Volini, opened up on the chemistry with Martina, on husband Shoaib Malik’s success and tennis’ future in India. Excerpts…

Your racket never went wrong this year? What was the trick?

Everything has gone right. I had a pretty good last year as well. I finished the year top five in the world. I won five tournaments but one can only dream about a year like 2015. Martina and I are fortunate to have found each other. Besides, I have been physically fit and have been playing the best tennis of my life.

What is the key to maintain a good partnership?

We are good friends and try to keep it simple, which shows on the court. In tough moments, we trust each other on the court. I wish my partnership with Martina started five years ago. I think everything happens for a reason at the right time and that’s what happened to us. We’ll also be playing next year. Our games compliment each other.

What changes have you made to your game this time around?

I think I’ve just tried to consolidate and become better at what I already knew. I’ve tried to improve my forehand. In tennis, you always have room for improvement even if you’re No 1 in the world. You still have to keep improving.

Shoaib Malik has always credited you for the success he has achieved in cricket. How has he helped you with regards to your game?

I haven’t helped Shoaib improve his game, I promise you. I think it’s all him, he has worked very hard to be where he is. Even when he was going through tough times, he never gave up and that’s the attitude he showed when he came and scored that double century (in Sharjah during the first Test against England). I am very happy for him. And please don’t blame me if he gets out without scoring. (Laughs)

What happens after Sania? Who will succeed her?

Sponsorship is one of the issues that tennis players in India face. This is a question that we’ve been asking for the past 11 years and we’ve always come up blank. There are a lot of other things that go into it such as the correct kind of coaching, correct decisions and infrastructure.

Are you happy with the tennis scene in India? There’s the IPTL and Champions tennis league coming up.

It’s getting better, but there is still room for improvement. Whatever suggestions I have, I’ll speak straight to the associations.