The Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won its third successive Grand Slam and 12th title overall on Friday, defeating the seventh-seeded pair of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-6 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open. Nicknamed "Santina", this was the pair's 36th consecutive win.
Unlike some of their other comprehensive victories through the tournament, the final proved a much tougher test for the eventual winners. They went down 2-3 and then 4-5 in a first set punctuated by some intense rallies. However, they clawed back to win the first set through a tie-breaker. Hingis, who was knocked out by Mirza and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in the mixed-doubles quarter-finals, took a medical time-out at the end of the first set to treat her right shoulder, but did not appear troubled.
The second set was slightly easier as Hlavackova and Hradecka lost some of their steam. The World No 1 Indo-Swiss pair sped to an early 2-0 lead and kept their feet on the accelerator. They would ultimately go on to win the second set 6-3. However, this will be Mirza's only Grand Slam title in Australia – she and partner Ivan Dodig lost the mixed doubles semifinal in straight sets 5-7 6-7 to the pair of Elena Vesnina and Bruno Soares later in the day.
In the men's draw, World No 2 Andy Murray dug deep and battled back to win against Milos Raonic. In a fiercely oscillating five-setter, Raonic and Murray alternatively won the first four sets. Struggling with injury, Raonic ran out of the steam in the final set, as Murray capitalised. The final score read 4-6 7-5 6-7 6-4 6-2 in favour of the Scotsman. Murray will now play World No 1 Novak Djokovic in the final on Sunday.
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