Saturday, January 31, 2009

Mirza & Bhupathi win mixed title

Sania Mirza and Mahesh
Mirza and Bhupathi were given a wild card into the mixed draw

India's Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi beat Nathalie Dechy of France and Andy Ram of Israel to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title in Melbourne.

The Indian pair won 6-3 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena to make up for Bhupathi's defeat in Saturday's men's doubles final alongside Mark Knowles.

Sunday's victory gave Bhupathi his 11th Grand Slam title.

The 34-year-old won a previous mixed title in Australia with Martina Hingis three years ago.

Bhupathi and Mirza, 22, broke Dechy's serve in the opening set, then broke their opponents twice in the second.

We wanted to stay out there and make it longer but they were just too good for us

Andy Ram
It is the first time an Indian pair have won a Grand Slam mixed doubles title.

"It's been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me this weekend," said Bhupathi.

"I want to thank all the Indians - we are very lucky that there are so many millions supporting us, not just here but back at home."

Ram admitted: "We wanted to stay out there and make it longer but they were just too good for us."

A successful tournament for India alaso saw 16-year-old Yuki Bhambri win the boy's junior championship on Saturday.

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