Playing her final Grand Slam, Sania Mirza crashed out in the second round of the Australian Open women’s doubles on January 22.
The eighth-seeded pair of Mirza and Anna Danilina failed to make the most of their second-set comeback as they suffered a three-set loss against Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck and Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina.
In a match that lasted more than two hours, Sania and her Kazakh partner lost the first set 4-6. However, they made a strong comeback to level the game by winning the second set 6-4. But the Melbourne heat appeared to have affected Sania and Danilina as they lost the decider, where they were broken thrice, 2-6.
The match is Mirza’s final appearance in the women’s doubles of a grand slam. The legendary Indian women’s tennis player had earlier announced her retirement. The former world no. 1 doubles player will bow out after playing her final tournament – Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championship – next month.
The defeat is not the end of the road in the Grand Slam for Mirza. The 36-year-old is still alive in the mixed doubles.
The six-time Grand Slam champion and Rohan Bopanna defeated the local pair of Jaimee Fourlis and Luke Saville 7-5, 6-3 in their opening round on Saturday.
The Indians had a difficult day, as the men’s doubles pair of N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan also lost in the second round.
Balaji and Nedunchezhiyan suffered a 4-6, 4-6 defeat against the French pair of Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin. The defeat ends India’s challenge in the category.