Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis fall in final at Stuttgart

Stuttgart: The Indian-Swiss duo of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis failed to win their 14th title after they lost a close final to second seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 1-6, 6-10 in Stuttgart.

Mirza and Hingis were looking to clinch their first title since February (St. Petersburg), but the second seeded French pair pulled off a stunning turnaround to defeat the Australian Open champions.

Garcia and Mladenovic were fresh from their first title together in Charleston, where they defeated the talented pairing of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova. Mladenovic and Garcia then teamed up in the Fed Cup and dispatched the Dutch to reach the final.

The French duo recovered from a set down to defeat Hingis and Mirza in the match tie-breaker. The more aggressive team came through the one hour and 21 minute final, with Garcia and Mladenovic hitting 25 winners to Santina’s 16.

“It’s very exciting and challenging to get to play you guys,” Mladenovic said after the match, addressing Hingis and Mirza. “I hope we get to play many more finals together.”

The French pair not only came away with their second title of the season, but also a pair of Porsche bikes.

“We could ride these back to France, no?” she laughed. “It’d take a little bit longer than the Porsche [car>, though!”

“I am happy I didn’t win a car because I don’t have my driver’s license yet,” Garcia said jokingly to receive laughs from the packed stadium for the final.

"I am happy I didn't win a car at #PTGP cause I don't have my driver's license yet" - @CaroGarcia, maybe 2017? 😉 pic.twitter.com/5FyHVu0SOd

— Porsche Tennis (@PorscheTennis) April 24, 2016

Before Stuttgart, the top seeds Mirza and Hingis had stumbled early in each of their last three tournaments at Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. They will be looking to turn things around on clay as they aim to win their first French Open together in June.