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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

MARTINA HINGIS

Hingis wins 12th Grand Slam with doubles win

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza added the Australian Open title Friday to their 2015 US Open and Wimbledon crowns as the rampantly successful pair maintained their dominance of women's doubles.

Published: 29 January 2016 13:01 CET
Hingis wins 12th Grand Slam with doubles win
Photo: Peter Parks/AFP

The Swiss veteran, 35, and her Indian partner, 29, were pushed hard by Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka but came through the battle 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.

It stretched the top seeds' win streak to 36 matches, the third best in WTA history and the longest unbeaten run since Jana
Novotna and Helen Sukova reached 44 in 1990.

The longest win streak ever belongs to Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver, who won an unprecedented 109 straight matches over a two-year period from 1983-1985.

“Thanks Sania, without you I wouldn't be here today,” said Hingis.

“We've struggled through heat and rain this year and it's been a tough tournament.”

Mirza added: “We've had an incredible year and we just want to keep going. Martina is an amazing champion and it's a privilege for me to play with her.”

After a roller coaster opening set where breaks were traded, the top seeds were taken to a tiebreak but quickly got the upper hand and comfortably came out on top 7-1.

They got an early break in the second set and the seventh-seeded Hlavackova and Hradecka, playing together since 2008, never looked like getting back in it.

There was a chink of light when the Czech pair broke Hingis at 2-5 as she was serving for the championship, but they were then broken themselves as the accolades went to their opponents.

Hingis and Mirza have been hugely successful since teaming up last March at Indian Wells, and the now world number ones went on to reach 10 finals last season.

They opened their 2016 campaign by winning titles in Brisbane and Sydney, and now Melbourne.

It was the 12th career Grand Slam doubles title for Hingis, who has now won five Australian Opens (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2016), two French Opens (1998, 2000), three at Wimbledon (1996, 1998, 2015) and two on the New York hard courts in 1998 and 2015.

Mirza, married to former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, has won three, all with Hingis.

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TENNIS

Will Belinda Bencic be the first Swiss woman to win a Grand Slam in 20 years?

No Swiss woman has won a Grand Slam singles title since Martina Hingis captured the 1999 Australian Open, but Belinda Bencic hopes to end that two-decade drought at the US Open.

Published: 5 September 2019 10:21 CEST
Will Belinda Bencic be the first Swiss woman to win a Grand Slam in 20 years?
Bencic, seeded 13th, has battled back from 2017 left wrist surgery. Photo: Mike Stobe / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

And with Swiss legend Roger Federer and his three-time Grand Slam-winning countryman Stan Wawrinka ousted in the men's quarter-finals, Bencic has extra motivation entering Thursday's semi-finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“This is not a good thing. I'm not happy about this actually,” Bencic said of the Federer and Wawrinka losses. “I'm kind of surprised, like I think everyone is.

“It would be really nice if the boys could also make it to semi-finals but I'm happy I can kind of do it for them and don't let them down.”

This year's showdown at Flushing Meadows is the 83rd Slam since Hingis won the last of her five major singles titles.

Bencic will face Canadian teen 15th seed Bianca Andreescu, a fellow Slam semi debutante, for the first time Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She's trying to become the first Canadian singles Grand Slam champion.

“That would be pretty awesome,” said Andreescu. “If it happens, then I think I can pave way for many other athletes, the next generation, not only for Canadian tennis but I think for many people.”

Ukraine's fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina meets Serena Williams, seeking her 24th Slam title to match Margaret Court's all-time record, in the other semi-final.

Bencic, seeded 13th, has battled back from 2017 left wrist surgery and other injuries that slowed her career for most of two seasons, winning her third WTA title in February at Dubai.

“She likes to be very aggressive,” Andreescu said. “She has a very good serve. She moves pretty well, too.”

The is Bencic's deepest Slam run, surpassing her 2014 US Open debut last-eight appearance, but it comes after having had to battle adversity.

“It's there like a dream always. Even when you are playing bad, you want to come back to this feeling. I think that's the motivation enough to keep going,” Bencic said.

“For sure being number one in the world or winning a Grand Slam is always a dream. But I think it's still a long way to that. Of course, I think you can see it there.

“The work and staying in the moment is more important right now. Just taking it step by step.”

Bencic has tried to stay calm on the court but has found that venting her frustrations can help her focus.

“I'm trying to work on my staying emotionally calm in the matches, but I have no trouble focusing after being angry a little bit,” she said.

“I think sometimes I need to get frustrated. I feel like I let it out. I feel a little bit better after. I start to play better I'm more pumped.”

Teen's best yet to come

Andreescu warns she hasn't reached her peak so far at Flushing Meadows.

“I don't think I've played my best tennis,” she said. “I just fought really well with what I had every single day. I think that's the most important thing for me.

“I just try to play every point like it's the last.”

The Canadian hopes to become the fourth first-time Slam champion in five years to win the US Open women's title.

“All of us dream of this moment ever since we're kids, ever since we picked up a racquet,” she said. “I definitely think I've fought really hard to get to this point, so I think I do deserve to be here and hopefully I can go all the way.”
 

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