Sania, Bopanna to clash for semi-finals spot in mixed doubles

Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna set up a mixed doubles quarterfinal clash against each other at the Australian Open after winning their respective matches, here on Tuesday. Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski knocked out the fifth-seeded team of Yung-Jan Chan and Lukasz Kubot 6-4 5-7 10-3 in their second round match. Later, Sania and her partner Croatian Ivan Dodig, seeded second, overcame stiff resistance from Saisai Zheng and Alexander Peya to triumph 2-6 6-3 10-6. Austrian Peya served a double fault at 5-5 in the decisive Super Tie-Breaker but after that the second seeds reeled off five straight points to seal the issue.One Indian is now certain to feature in the semifinals and if Leander Paes manages to win his quarterfinal with partner Martina Hingis, the semifinal will again feature two Indians.