New York: Top Indian woman tennis player Sania Mirza, who was recently awarded the country's highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratan Award, partnering Martina Hingis of Switzerland are proving a formidable pair in the women's doubles competitions of the US Open here on Sunday.
Top seeded Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza outplayed their 13th seeded rivals Michaella Krajicek of Netherlands and Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic in all departments of the game as they raced to straight sets 6-3, 6-0 verdict in the women's doubles third round at the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Sunday. The first set lasted 33 minutes and second 23. They have yet to drop a set on way to quarter-final.
Martina-Sania sailed into the quarter-final virtually facing no resistance from their rivals so far. The Indo-Swiss combination will now be pitted against ninth seeded pair of Chan sisters Yung-Jan and Hao-Ching of Taipei who rallied to overcome challenge of Romanian pair of Irina-Camelia Bequ and Raluca Olaru 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
On Sunday, Sania and Martina fired 23 winners in reply to their opponents 12. The Indo-Swiss pair fired four aces and committed two double faults. The winners collected 59 total points and converted 4 of 7 break points into winners. They made 15 unforced errors.
Michaella and Barbora won 35 total points and hit 12 winners. They committed 17 unforced errors and had a lone ace to their credit. Sania-Martina had a slight problem in the first game on their serve. However they managed to hold their serve after having gaining an advantage.
Thereafter Sania-Martina did not look back. They broke their rivals in the fourth game to gain 3-1 advantage in the first set. The Indo-Swiss duo clinched the first set at 6-3. Martina-Sania did not drop even a single game in the second set (6-0) which lasted just 23 minutes.