Sania Mirza wins Brisbane doubles title

The top-seeded Indo-American duo triumphed 6-2, 6-3 against the second-seeded Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final.

The trophy, however, ended Sania’s 91-week reign as the world No.1 doubles player in the WTA rankings. That position was taken over by Bethanie. “I feel like I’m handing over Miss World No.1 crown,” Sania said in her post-match speech. The Indian had come into the tournament as a defending champion, having won it with Swiss ace Martina Hingis last year. 

“We always have good matches (against Vesnina/Makarova). It’s great to come back as defending champion. Thank you to my partner and best friend. We go a long way, we play once a year, the last time we played, we won in Sydney,” Sania said. “I think we should play a lot more. Thanks for playing with me. I was No.1 in the world but congratulations to her for becoming No.1 now. If not me, then her, she has had an amazing year,” she added. Sania will go back to pairing with Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova in Sydney next week and the Australian Open, which starts on January 16. 

Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov upset top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic of Canada to set up a title clash against Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Seventh seed Dimitrov saved a set point in the opener on his way to a 7-6(7) 6-2 win over world number three Raonic in 88 minutes in the second semi-final. 

World number five Nishikori had an almost identical win against Swiss U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka, who went down 7-6(3) 6-3 in the first semi-final of the warmup event for this month’s Australian Open. 

There was little to separate Dimitrov and 2016 Wimbledon finalist Raonic in the first set, both players making the most of their big serves and not offering a single break-point opportunity. 

Dimitrov managed to nose ahead by edging the first set tiebreak 9-7 before racing away in the second with two breaks of serve to seal the match. 

“I couldn’t imagine a better scenario for sure,” Dimitrov said in a court-side interview. “I have lot of respect for him and it’s always a pleasure playing against him. “Right now I am just focussed on my performance. In previous matches I wasn’t returning as well. Against Milos, the only chance you have is to  get into a rally against him.” 

Dimitrov has never won against his opponent in Sunday’s final with Nishikori enjoying a 3-0 head-to-head record. 

“Nishikori is one of the trickiest players out there,” Dimitrov added. “He has a tremendous fighting spirit and has improved his game quite a bit. 

“He has quite a few weapons if you think about it. It’s not going to be an easy match for sure. But I am focussed on myself and what I need to improve and what I need to get better for Melbourne.” 

Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist, won five of the final six points in the tiebreaker to claim the first set. After an early exchange of breaks in the second, the Rio Olympic bronze medallist got the decisive break in the seventh game. 

“I’m feeling very happy to be in the final tomorrow. I’ve tried many times and this is the first time to get to Sunday in Brisbane,” the 27-year-old said. 

“Especially beating Stan today, it’s been a good start to the year. “Dimi started playing much better last year, especially at the end of the season. He’s going to be a tough opponent.”