French Open 2016 | Mirza-Dodig start on a winning note

ByArun S Kaimal, SportsCafe Editor

05/26/2016

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig entered the mixed doubles pre-quarters of the 2016 French Open after a straight-sets victory in the first round. The second seeds defeated the unseeded duo of Mathilde Johansson and Tristan Lamasine 6-4, 6-3 in 67 minutes.

After a semi-final appearance in the Australian Open in January this year, Mirza and Dodig started off on a positive note in the second grand slam of the year at the Roland Garros. Both pairs looked in good rhythm and matched each other shot for shot till the final game. Mirza and Dodig held on to their serve to take a lead at 5-4, before breaking the serve of the local pair to win the opening set 6-4.

In the second set, the Indo-Croatian pair started from where they had left off in the first and raced to a 3-0 lead by breaking Mathilde Johansson and Tristan Lamasine once apiece. The French duo held their service in the next three games, but their spirited effort came a bit too late in the day to cause any problem for the second-seeded pair.

Mirza and Dodig will next face the winner of the match between Alize Cornet-Jonathan Eysseric and Johanna Konta and Daniel Nestor.

(Read about Martina Hingis and Leander Paes' victory in the opening round of the 2016 French Open)