Indian tennis ace Leander Paes and 'Swiss Miss' Martina Hingis continued their consistent run to make it to the finals of Australian Open mixed doubles.
Paes, 41, who has several accolades including an Olympics medal and 14 grand slam titles (doubles and mixed doubles), moves another step closer to reprising his previous wins at Rod Laver arena from 2003, and 2010 (partnering Cara Black). His partner Martina Hingis, 34, once the top-ranked female player in the world, is also a serious competitor with plenty of experience on her side. Together, the seventh seeds were more than formidable for their unseeded opponents Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) and Su-Wei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei).
To their credit, Cuevas and Hseih began well, managing to hold their serve through the first five games. But at the crucial juncture, they sent their cross courts wide, letting the Indo-Swiss pair off the hook. The first set closed out in favor of Paes and Hingis 7-5. They were equally clinical in the second set, yet again managing to hold their serve, and pouncing on the only break they were offered, to round off 6-4.
India could further raise their medal hopes, if the top-seeded pair of Sania Mirza and her Brazilian partner Bruno Soares can make past their third seeded challengers later this evening.
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