Sania, Paes reach mixed doubles quarters at Australian Open

Melbourne, January 26

Sania Mirza and Leander Paes carved out contrasting wins with different partners to reach the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Australian Open tennis tournament here on Monday.

Top seeds Sania and her Brazilian partner Bruno Soares edged past Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez 7-5 6-7 (3) 10-8 before seventh seeds Paes and Martina Hingis outplayed the Spanish combine of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Pablo Andujar 6-3 6-1 on Show Court 3.

The US-Mexican pair of Spears and Gonzalez gave a bit of a hard time to Sania and Soares but the experienced pair handled the pressure well to seal the match in a tense super tie-break.

Later in the day, Paes and Hingis were clinical against their Spanish opponents, wrapping up the contest in 51 minutes. The Indo-Swiss pair converted four out of their 10 break points besides winning bulk of the points on serve.

There were also cheers for India in the junior boys singles section as Sumit Nagal humbled Yosuke Watanuki of Japan 6-2 6-3 in the second round encounter.

PTI