Top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic made a magnificent comeback from being 2-5 down in the first set to set foot in the US Open semi-finals, beating Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova 7-6(7-3), 6-1. The seventh seeded Indo-Czech pair capitulated from set point to fall off the rails in the contest, which was interrupted by rain in the second set.
Strycova got the momentum going in the first set, serving brilliantly to earn a 2-1 lead. Strycova and Mirza jumped into the lead and got a break, going 3-1 up with the Czech smashing a winner and going on to take the game with a volley.
Mirza's serves also had tremendous verve in them and had her opponents in trouble, and not for a second did it look like they would let their advantage slip. They had raced to a 5-2 lead in the first set. As was the case in the second set in their previous encounter, Mirza and Strycova suffered from severe lapses in concentration. This time though, the consequences were more devastating.
From set point, Indo-Czech pair collapsed dramatically. It started with Garcia and Mladenovic breaking Mirza's serve and there was no looking back for the top seeds. The tie-breaker was probably the nadir of the first set for the Mirza-Strycova duo.
In the second set, Garcia and Mladenovic piled on the misery. The Frenchwoman's returns were left with no answers. Even a 15-minute rain break failed to cure the malaise that had engulfed Mirza and Strycova in the first set.
Towards the end, Mirza and Strycova somehow defied the top seeds by avoiding the ignominy of losing the set without earning a single point. The loss meant that India's challenge in the US Open is over.
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