Australian Open 2023: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna reach semi-finals
What's the story
Indian mixed doubles duo Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open 2023 on Tuesday. The pair received a walkover from the Spanish-Latvian duo of David Hernandez and Jelena Ostapenko in the quarters. Up next, they face the winner of the third-seeded Desirae Krawczyk-Neal Skupski and Taylor Townsend-Jamie Murray. Here's more.
Information
Eighth semi-final appearance in mixed doubles at AO
Sania will mark her eighth semi-final appearance in the mixed doubles segment at the Australian Open. Notably, she won the tournament back in 2009 alongside compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. Sania was a quarter-finalist in the 2022 edition.
Journey
Sania-Bopanna's journey in mixed doubles
The Indian pair of Sania and Bopanna haven't dropped a set in the mixed-team competition. They beat the Australian duo of Jaimee Fourlis and Luke Saville 7-5, 6-3 in the first round. The Indian pair overcame the Uruguayan and Japanese duo of Ariel Behar and Makato Ninomiya 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) in the second round. Sania and Bopanna were handed a walkover in the quarter-finals.
Doubles
Sania crashes out of doubles
Sania crashed out of the women's doubles segment in the second round at Australian Open after she and her partner Anna Danilina lost to Alison Van Uytvanck and Anhelina Kalinina. Sania last won a Grand Slam in doubles in 2016, winning Wimbledon along with the legendary Martina Hingis. Overall at Grand Slams, Sania enjoys a 104-52 win-loss record in women's doubles.
Retirement
Sania to retire post AO 2023
36-year-old Sania will retire from professional tennis post the 2023 Australian Open. Sania, a former world number one in women's doubles, took to social media to pen down a heartfelt message confirming the same. Before that, Sania had stated that she plans to retire at the upcoming WTA 1000 event in Dubai in February.