Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis come from behind to lift China Open
Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the women's doubles crown at the China Open to claim their eighth title of the season, defeating the sixth-seeded Chan sisters of China – Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan 6-7 (9-11), 6-1, 10-8 in the final.
The world's top-ranked pair, who joined forces back in March, lost the opening set on tie-break, before comfortably winning the second. The duo,however, pounced back to produce a brilliant display of aggressive tennis to win the championship tie-break 10-8 and lift their fourth consecutive title. It was Mirza's second China Open crown, the first coming in 2013.
Hingis and Mirza started the first set brightly as they broke Yung-Jan's serve in the opening game. But the Chinese pair fought back and put Hingis under immense pressure on her serve in the fourth game of the first set. An unforced error by the Swiss provided three break points for her opponents, and they needed only one of them, as Mirza's error brought the match back on serve.
Both pairs produced high quality tennis with some hard hitting from the baseline and exciting exchanges at the net.
The fifth game of the first set produced the most controversial moment of the match. Yung-Jan's serve was once again put under pressure by the Indo-Swiss pair and the game was balanced at 30-40. A backhand down the line from Hingis went over the line and the game was awarded to the sixth-seeded pair. Hingis, however, was furious with the decision and claimed that the ball was deflected out of play by Hao-Ching's racket. Replays later confirmed this, but the chair umpire didn't change his decision.
The set went to tie-break, and a host of unforced errors and missed opportunities saw the indo-Swiss duo lose 9-11. Hingis struggled to find her best form, while the Chinese pair were functioning like a well-oiled unit.
But the match turned on its head in the second set as Hingis and Mirza broke the Chan sisters twice to win the set 6-1.
The match headed to a championship tie-break, and after missing their first championship point at 9-7, Hingis won the second (10-8) with an emphatic smash at the net.
he duo are slated to appear next in the WTA Finals in Singapore later this month.
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