Paes-Sania bring relief to Indian supporters with straightforward win

True to the nature of mixed doubles, the match sped by in the blink of an eye. Fortunately for India’s supporters, though, it was the team of Leander Paes and Sania Mirza that galloped to the finish line, as they defeated the Serbian pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4 in just 1 hour 4 minutes.

On paper, the Serbian duo was undoubtedly the stronger pair, consisting as it did of an established doubles superstar and a player who has been ranked No. 1 in the world in singles. But in tennis, as in any sport, it all comes down to form on the day, and today Paes and Sania were far stronger than their opponents in just about every department of the game.

The Indians took the initiative early on, breaking serve to go up 2-1 in the first set. They did get broken right back, but the 4 players were in the middle of a minor break-a-thon, as the Indians secured a third successive break to go up 3-2. That proved to be a decisive lead, as Paes-Sania held serve the rest of the way, and broke the Serbs once more for good measure, to win the set handily by the score of 6-2.

Paes and Sania took their momentum into the second set and broke serve straight away for a 1-0 lead. The result was never in doubt after that; despite all of the Serb’s efforts to pressure the Indians, Paes and Sania held firm on their serve. The only wobble for the Indians came when they served for the match at 5-4, with two good returns from Zimonjic and Ivanovic giving them a 30-0 lead. Paes was starting to look a bit tight on his serve, and his deliveries started getting a little shorter; the door was slightly ajar for the Serbs to come storming back. But the Indian duo brought out all of their doubles expertise to stamp out the threat, and they held on to take the second set 6-4, thereby winning the match in straight sets.

After two consecutive days of doubles disappointment, this result would have come as a huge relief for the Indian supporters. What would have been particularly heartening for the fans to see was how comfortable Paes and Sania looked on the court – they seemed to be a league above their opponents, which was remarkable considering the pedigree of the Serbian pair. Sania Mirza, in particular, looked very sound with her net game; she made plenty of quick, sharp intercepts that belied her normally baseline-dominant game. Paes, on the other hand, came up with his usual doses of doubles magic, which made the pair look formidable and solid at the same time. These are good signs for India’s medal chances in tennis, but the stakes will only get higher with each passing day.