Sania and Martina triumph in Rome WTA event

The joint number one, Sania and Martina were playing their third straight final since the start of the clay court swing, falling both times to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and Mutua Madrid Open.

Across the net today were familiar foes in Makarova and Vesnina were playing just their second tournament together since last summer,Santina roared through the opening set and carved out a 5-3 lead in the second. But the Russians levelled the set and later the match in a tie-break.

Sania and Martina shook off the hiccup to beat back their opponents and a gloomy forecast to capture their 14th title as a pair, and their fifth of this year.