Sania Mirza Bopanna Highlights: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna entered the final of the Australian Open 2023. The veteran Indian duo clinched a thriller against third seeded pair Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk in the semifinals of the tournament on Wednesday, 25th January 2023. Sania Mirza now has a great chance to end her carerr in Grand Slam events with a title. After winning the first set, they had the lead in the second set. However their opponents fought back and won the set in a tie-breaker, forcing the contest to move into Super-tie-breaker. The Indian pair then won it 11-6 to book a spot in the summit clash. Follow Australian Open Mixed DOUBLES LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Sania Mirza Bopanna Highlights: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna ENTER Mixed Doubles final, defeat Krawczyk-Skupski pair in semifinals at Australian Open 2023 – Follow Australian Open LIVE updates
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In a fitting farewell, @MirzaSania‘s last dance will take place on the grandest stage!
She and @rohanbopanna 🇮🇳 have qualified for the Mixed Doubles Final!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/qHGNOvWMoC
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2023
It was an intense battle right from the start. Both the pairs managed to hold their serves in the first set forcing a tie-breaker. In a nervy-tie-breaker the Indians managed to keep their cool to grab the first set.
In the second set, the game began swinging like a pendulum. The Indian pair started off with a break over their opponents and led 1-0. However they let their lead slip away to allow their opponents to level the scorers 3-3 by conceding a break.
Solid returns from Sania brought the Indians back into the contest as they broke back to take 4-3 lead. However, Sania ended up hitting a double fault to hand the Brit-American partnership a route back into the match again. The Indians led 40-30 in the 12th game of the set but good returns from Neal Skupski forced the contest into the super tie-breaker.
In the deciding set, Sania and Bopanna raced to a five-point lead. Their opponents however tried to claw their way back and reduced the deficit to 8-6. A spirited Sania sent back a terrific return to reach the match point and the Indian pair sealed the breaker 10-6 to race into the final.
“He was my first ever Mixed Doubles partner when I was 14. Today, I am 36 and he is 42. We have a solid partnership. We knew we had to come up with the best and I am glad we did it,” said Sania Mirza after the match.
Mirza is about to play her final match at the Australian Open when she takes the court in the final. Speaking on that, she said, “I am so emotional. I have been here for the last 18 years. It feels like home for me. It’s been quite a journey and I am going to miss coming back here.”
Rohan Bopanna and Mirza too have entered their first final in the Mixed Doubles in a Grand Slam event. On the possibility of winning the title, Bopanna said, “We need to keep inspiring everyone back home and we need it in India, I think it’s the only way to keep it going.”
The Indian pair will face either Australians Olivia Gadecki and Marc Polmans or Luisa Srefani and Pafael Matos in the summit clash of Australian Open 2023 Mixed Doubles. The final is scheduled to be played on Saturday 28th January 2023.
