Sania-Barbara pair exits US Open

World No 1 Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbara Strycova were ousted from the women’s doubles event after losing to top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets in the quarter-final of the US Open, here.

The French pair of Garcia and Mladenovic won 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in only 69 minutes to end the Indian challenge at the Flushing Meadows. Sania Mirza is an Indian professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in the women’s doubles rankings From 2003 until her retirement from singles. 

In 2013, she was ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association as India’s No. 1 player, both in singles and doubles. Throughout her career, Mirza has established herself as the most successful female Indian tennis player ever and one of the highest-paid and high-profile athletes in the country. In her singles career, Mirza has notable wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva.

The other Indian starts in the fray, Rohan Bopanna, Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni have all lost their respective matches in the earlier rounds. Both pairs traded a break each in the first set after which they held their respective serves to take the set to the tie-breaker.

The seventh seeded Indo-Czech pair Mirza and Strycova lost serve in mini-service break as they conceded the first set 7-6 in 45 minutes.  The second set was a virtual cakewalk for the French girls as they broke the opposition serve twice to open up an unassailable 5-0 lead before finishing the match at 6-1.