TIL Desk Sports/ In a stunning comeback after a 2-year-long maternity break from tennis, Sania Mirza won the WTA Hobart International doubles title along with her partner Nadiia Kichenok on Saturday. The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes. Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.
It is Sania’s 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2017 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik. Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.
The
two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and
Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set. There
was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first
set. The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the
Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.
The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the
third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.
