It is a massive day for Indian tennis as the pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza will play for the French Open title in the mixed doubles category. The game becomes bigger as apart from the Grand Slam title, London Olympics is just round the corner and it is this pair who has the maximum chance to win a medal for India in the biggest event of them all.
The seventh seeded pair of Mirza- Bhupathi has a good record since the time they joined hands. In the year 2008, they reached the displayed some outstanding tennis in the Australian Open to reach the finals. Their magic did not work in the finals and they went down in straight sets. But before getting down in the finals the pair showed that they have good co-ordination between them and gelled well as a player. It looked like a pair which will do well in the coming tournaments.
Australian Open 2009 saw both Bhupathi and Mirza in their best touch, they stormed into the finals and this time emerged as champions. In the finals they defeated Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram 6–3, 6–1. That was Sania Mirza’s first Grand Slam title and Bhupathi’s 11th title.
Bhupathi is considered to be one of the world’s best doubles players and in mixed doubles he has partnered a number of girls and taken them to the title wins. He has also partnered former singles number one player Martina Hingis and together they won the Australian Open in 2006. His game is perfectly suited to the doubles game and his experience has done wonders for Sania.
Sania Mirza’s performance in singles category has been below par and that has made her focus more on her doubles’ game. Sania struggles to make a mark in singles because she suffers when the rally goes long, she hits far too many unforced errors and her week serve does not go well in singles. In doubles the rallies are relatively shorter and she can make full use of her powerful forehand.
Sania and Bhupathi have started well in 2012, reaching the semifinals of the year’s first Grand Slam the Australian Open. Now they have reached the finals of the second grand slam of 2012 and this time they will want to take the trophy home. If the hard-hitting pair win today’s final, then they will be seriously considered as the prime contenders for a medal in London. Leander Paes made India proud by winning the bronze medal in the 1996, Atlanta Olympics and it is high time that other tennis stars of India put their hands up.
These two Indians have also been in a lot of controversies both on the professional and on personal level and both of them will be dying to prove a point to the Indian audience.
By Indian Sports News
