Returning Sania Mirza reaches doubles final in Hobart
Indian women's tennis star Sania Mirza is having a positive return to the game after taking a maternity leave. Sania has continued her winning run and has reached the women's doubles final of the Hobart International. Partnering Nadiia Kichenok, the Indian ace will now aim to make it big in the finale. Here's more on Sania's semi-final victory.
The Indo-Ukranian pair will be up against second seeds Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai in the final on Saturday. Peng and Zhang are seeded second in the tournament and reached the final after the likes of Allson Van Uytvanck and Kirsten Flipkens retired. It will be an enticing finale on the cards next. Peng and Zhang enter the tie as the favorites.
Sania and Ukraine's Kichenok defeated the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6(3), 6-2 in straight sets. The two players were prolific and created break point opportunities in the match. The two converted four out of the 15 that came their way.
The pair of Mirza-Kichenok registered a 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 10-3 victory over Georgia's Oksana Kalashnikova and Japan's Miyu Kato in the opening round. That was followed by a win against the American duo of Vania King and Christina McHale in 6-2, 4-6, 10-4 affair in the quarters. This was a third straight victory for the duo and Sania is slowly finding her groove.
Sania went on to spend 91 weeks as the top-ranked player in the WTA doubles rankings over her career. She had not played since a semi-final run at the 2017 China Open. During her time away, she gave birth to her first child, Izhaan. The Indian ace is into her 62nd WTA doubles final and is seeking her 41st title.
