They are nicknamed “Santina” and they continue to rock the doubles world.
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won their 36th straight match Friday and in the process claimed the Australian Open women’s doubles title.
A day after they faced off in mixed doubles — Mirza and Ivan Dodig beat Hingis and Leander Paes — the Indo-Swiss pairing overcame Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7-1) 6-3.
If Hingis and Mirza subsequently win the French Open doubles title in June, they would complete the “Santina Slam” or winning four consecutive grand slams.
“Our fairytale continues,” Hingis told reporters. “It’s amazing since winning Wimbledon.”
For the 35-year-old Hingis, it was her fifth Australian Open women’s double title; her first came all the way back in 1997.
After coming out of retirement twice, the “Swiss Miss” has reestablished herself as a force in doubles. This month she joined Mirza as the No. 1 player in the world 18 years after her first stint at top spot.
Her volleying and anticipation appear to be the perfect complement to Mirza’s power game. Mirza possesses one of the fiercest forehands in the women’s game and often troubles opponents with her crunching returns.
“She’s one of the hardest-hitting players out there,” Hingis said. “Like her groundstrokes, her return is really amazing, and her forehand is, if not the best in the world — okay, maybe Serena (Williams) can hit it as hard,” she said of the women’s No. 1 who will play in Saturday’s singles final.
“But, yeah, there’s not that many people who can match her in the forehand rallies and me on the backhand side and at the net.”
Mirza, not part of Hingis’ briefing with reporters because she had to prepare for a mixed doubles semifinal, defied the odds to become a tennis player in India, playing on cow manure in her formative years. Now she is one of India’s top stars.
Set of breaks
Each team broke four times in the first set Friday at Rod Laver Arena — the roof closed due to showers on a nippy day in Melbourne.
The turning point came when the Czechs, who triumphed in two majors together, failed to serve out the first at 5-4.
Hingis and Mirza dominated the tiebreak and even after Hingis received a medical timeout for a shoulder injury, took a 2-0 lead in the second. They didn’t waver again.
Their winning streak is the longest in women’s doubles since Czechs Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova won 44 straight in 1990. The all-time record is still in the considerable distance: Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver reached 109 straight victories from 1983 to 1985.
