French Open 2016 | Leander Paes and Martina Hingis storm into mixed doubles semis

Unseeded Paes and Hingis, who won three Grand Slams together in 2015, looked in prime form in the quarter-final match against their higher-seeded opponents. It looked all too easy for the pair right from the start as they broke through the Russian-Brazilian pair in the first game of the day. The Indo-Swiss duo then saved a break point in the next game to take a 2-0 lead in the opening set. They went on to save another break point in the fourth game before finally surrendering their serve in the eighth game of the day. Both pairs were level at four games each, but Hingis and Paes showed their experience in the next two games and broke Elena Vesnina and Bruno Soares in the next game before holding their serve in the next.

A 6-4 win in the opening set gave the unseeded duo the momentum they needed in the match, and they made it count by once again starting the set by breaking the fifth seeds. Vesnina and Soares needed something special to get back into the match, and they almost did it in the third game by taking Paes and Hingis on to the verge of a break. But the Indo-Swiss saved two break points and held on to their serve to keep their lead. With the game running away from them, the fifth seeds slowly lost their initial momentum and surrendered the set 6-3 by allowing Paes and Hingis to break them in the final game.

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis will next face sixth seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Andrea Hlavackova in the semi-final. 

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