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renew: February 7, 2023 at 00:19 yes
Abu Dhabi [UAE]Feb 7 (ANI): In the ongoing Abu Dhabi Open 2023 WTA 500 event on Monday, Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her American doubles partner Bethany Martek- Sands was eliminated in the first round of the women’s doubles.
The pair lost 3-6, 4-6 to Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens and Laura Sigmund, according to Olympics.com.
Mirza is now one step closer to quitting the sport. The six-time Grand Slam winner had earlier announced she would be retiring from professional tennis after the Dubai Tennis Championships, which begin on February 27.
Mirza Sands suffered an early blow on the hard courts of the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Center when they lost serve in the second game of the first set. But they managed to go back to back and break their opponent’s serve in the next game.
The European team took the lead after breaking Sarnia and Sands in the sixth game and won the first set.
The second set was a bitter battle for supremacy, with the two teams evenly matched with three break points each. The two teams were tied 4-4, but Sagna and Sands lost serve in the all-important ninth game, and the Belgian won nervously in the 10th game just over an hour later.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopana were runners-up behind Brazil’s Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in Friday’s Australian Open mixed doubles final at Melbourne Park. The Brazilian duo claimed their maiden Grand Slam.
Sania Mirza joins Rohan Bopanna in her final Grand Slam match as the duo 7(7)-6(2), 6- 2 defeated by Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos.
Sania Mirza has won two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open. She partnered with Hingis to win the Australian Open women’s doubles championship in 2016, and partnered with Bhupathi to win the Australian Open mixed doubles championship in 2009.
The 2017 French Open mixed doubles champion, Rohan Bopana won the championship with Canadian player Gabriela Dabrovski, and is still his Grand Slam single champion.
India defeated defending Wimbledon champions Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski in three sets in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.
“I started my career in Melbourne. I can’t think of a better arena to finish my career in. [Grand Slam] career,” Sania Mirza said emotionally in his post-match interview.
Mirza, the WTA doubles world No. 1 for 91 consecutive weeks, finished runner-up in her final Grand Slam match of her career. Mirza said earlier this month that February’s WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship would mark the end of her professional tennis career. (Arnie)
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