The top ranked WTA doubles team shows no signs of slowing down in 2016. Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza won the Apia International Sydney title on Friday, as they edged the third seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in a super tiebreak.
Hingis-Mirza Remain Perfect
Top ranked Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza made it eight for eight in matches played this season as they claimed their second title of the season on Friday in Sydney. They faced third seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic who had advanced to the final earlier in the day by beating second seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan 6-2, 6-4. The French pairing looked to have Hingis-Mirza on the ropes early as they rushed out to a 6-1 win in the opening set. Garcia-Mladenovic broke the top seeds three times in the set and won 12 of 15 points on their own serves.
The second set looked even more perilous to the 29 match win streak that the top seeds carried into the match as they fell down a break at 2-0. The two teams would trade service holds to 5-3 with Hingis-Mirza amazingly coming up with a clutch break of service at-love to stay in the match. Hingis-Mirza would win the last four games of the set to rally for a 7-5 win to even the match at one set each. In the super tiebreak, service holds were at a premium. OI the 15 points played, ten were won off of the opposition's serve. That was good news for Hingis-Mirza who won six points off the third seeds' serves and came up with three big holds of their own on their final four service points for the 1-6, 7-5, 10-5 victory.
Mirza said afterwards that the only thing they could do when they were down to their last game was continue to fight, “At 6-1, 5-2 the only thing we could say to each other was that it was only one break. That’s the only positive you can find from a situation like that. We tried to hold our serve for 5-3 to give ourselves another chance, then we had a huge game at 5-3 and the momentum went in our favor."
The win brings "Team Santina" its 11th WTA title since these two began playing together last season. The win in Sydney will also see Hingis join Mirza as joint number ones in the doubles rankings to be released next week. Hingis says it is awesome to join her partner at number one, “I think it’s another chapter in my career, definitely. When Sania became No.1 in Charleston that was a huge stepping stone for her, and now for me, 16 years later, who would have thought I would have another opportunity to become No.1 again? It was a dream and now it’s reality,”
Hobart Final to Feature Two Unseeded Teams
The WTA Hobart International final on Saturday will feature a pair of unseeded teams that not many expected to be in this position this week. To the delight of the Australian crowd, Jarmila Wolfe and Kimberly Birrell hold one of those spots. The Aussies stunned top seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Aranxta Parra Santonja in Friday's semifinals 6-4, 7-5. Wolfe-Birrell fought through some nervy moments in the match as they blew break leads three times in the match, but were able to secure key breaks late in both sets to take home the win. They will face Christina McHale and Xinyun Han in the final. McHale and Hun were awarded a walkover after second seeds Johanna Larsson and Kiki Bertens were forced to withdraw. That was due to a thigh injury that Larsson picked up during her singles semifinal against Alize Cornet.
Bopanna-Mergea Roll Into Sydney Final
Fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea are headed to the men's doubles final at the Apia International Sydney. Bopanna-Mergea ousted Leonardo Mayer and Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (8), 6-4. In a tight match, the fourth seeds held all six of their break points, while securing the winning break off Mayer-Bellucci in the second set. They will face Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares in the final. The unseeded duo needed two wins on Friday to book their spot. They finished off their rain delayed quarterfinal 6-4, 6-4 over Matt Reid and Jordan Thompson. Then, they outlasted Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski 7-5, 6-2, 10-3 in the semifinals. The new pairing of Murray-Soares is off to a good start with a semifinal showing in Doha last week and now making the final in Sydney. Bopanna-Mergea will be seeking their third title together.
Auckland Final Set
The men's doubles final in Auckland is set at the ASB Classic. Fourth seeds Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky have survived the upset bug this week as they advanced to the final with an easy 6-1 6-4 win over Oliver Marach and Julian Knowle. The Americans were nearly perfect with their first serve, winning 27 of 30 points for the match. They saved all three of their break points, while converting three of nine off Marach-Knowle. They face Michael Venus and Mate Pavic next. Venus, an Auckland native, survived the New Zealand clash as he and Pavic whipped Kiwis Artam Sitak and Marcus Daniell 6-2, 6-3. Venus-Pavic continue to show strong at these 250 level events. Last year, they won one title and made two finals at this level. Butorac-Lipsky won one title together in 2015 on an indoor hard surface in Valencia, Spain.
Catch all your daily doubles results and news on VAVEL with The Daily Doubles. Next week, we will have a special preview of the men's, women's and mixed doubles draws for the Australian Open.