Sania-Strycova duo triumphs in style

September 25, 2016 01:40 am | Updated November 01, 2016 08:44 pm IST - TOKYO:

TOO GOOD:  Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova lost just two games in the final .

TOO GOOD: Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova lost just two games in the final .

Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova hammered the Chinese combination of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang 6-1, 6-1 in the final to clinch the Pan Pacific title on Saturday.

Starting strongly, the Sania-Strycova duo took the lead in quick time before clinching the set for the loss of just one game.

In the second set, the Chinese pair tried its best to bounce back, but Sania and Strycova proved too strong. Liang and Yang made three double faults and the Indo-Czech duo just one.

This was Sania’s 40th doubles title, and the 18th since the beginning of 2015. She had earlier won the Pan Pacific crown twice, partnering Zimbabwean Cara Black on both occasions.

Leander Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann made it to the final of the St. Petersburg Open with a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Russian pair of Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev.

In a contest that lasted nearly an hour and a half, Paes and Begemann won the first set at a canter. In the second, the Russians fought from 2-0 down to race to a 5-2 lead.

However, Paes and Begemann held their nerve to win five consecutive games and wrapped up the set 7-5.

Paes last won an ATP men’s doubles title in the 2015 New Zealand Open, partnering South Africa’s Raven Klaasen.

The results:

At Tokyo: Final: Sania Mirza & Barbora Strycova bt Chen Liang & Zhaoxuan Yang 6-1, 6-1; Semifinal: Sania & Strycova bt Gabriela Dabrowski & Maria Jose Martina Sanchez 4-6, 6-3, [10-5].

At St. Petersburg: Semifinal: Leander Paes & Andre Begemann bt Mikhail Elgin & Alexander Kudryavtsev 6-3, 7-5.

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