MIAMI, FL, USA - Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza played Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final of the BNP Paribas Open two weeks ago, and it'll happen all over again at the Miami Open on Sunday, as the Top 2-seeded teams at the Premier Mandatory event battled into the final Friday.
The No.2-seeded Makarova and Vesnina were first into the final, falling behind 2-0 early on but then winning 12 of the next 16 games to beat No.9 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, 6-4, 6-2.
"Today was quite a tough one because the first set was so close," Makarova said. "They broke us in the beginning, so we just had to keep playing solid and aggressive, and really just stay with our game.
"We've played against them so many times, and it's nice to see they're starting to play together again. They're really aggressive and really know how to play doubles - they're always a tough team."
No.1 seeds Hingis and Mirza followed them into the final with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No.7 seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, an all-WTA Rising Star pair who made the Wimbledon final last year.
"It was a great match," Hingis said. "I'd never played this team before, and I know it was a good test for us in our second tournament together - it's nice to get a tough team like that to play against.
"Now we know we can definitely beat the best, because they're champions too."
"We're still learning to play with each other, so it's good to play against a tough team like that," Mirza said after the match. "They're really good. We were down a break in the first set, so we're happy we were able to get it back and win the first set, 6-2. We're just happy to be in another final now."
Hingis and Mirza will be playing against Makarova and Vesnina for the second time, their first meeting being the aforementioned Indian Wells final - the Swiss-Indian pairing won that one, 6-3, 6-4.
They were asked what they would have to do to beat Makarova and Vesnina again.
"The same as we did last week!" Mirza said. "We just have to keep focused and fight for every point. I keep saying this - names don't win you matches, neither does any result. Every day is a different day."
No comments:
Post a Comment