Rome Masters: Sania-Hingis, Bopanna-Mergea ease into quarters

The first set was a tight affair with both teams finding it difficult to defend their serve, and conceding breaks for fun. But it was the Indo-Swiss pair that held their nerve the longest, and broke their rivals three times before wrapping up the first set, one in which they had won only 64% of their first serves, 6-3.

Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea was also in action in the men's doubles at Rome on Wednesday, and the sixth-seeded pair came back from a set down to win the second round match. Facing the unseeded duo of Benoit Paire and Joao Sousa, the sixth seeds had to work hard for their win. The first set was settled in a tie-break, which was won by Paire-Sousa 7-5. Bopanna-Mergea came back strong to take the next set 6-4 with an extra break as the match headed into a decider. In what was a see-saw affair, the Indo-Romanian pair held their nerves to see off their opponents and walk into the quarters with a 6-7, 6-4, 10-8 win. They will next face the winners of the clash between Phillipe Kohlschreiber-Vicktor Troicki and Ivan Dodig-Marcelo Melo.