Tennis
Wimbledon 2022: Sania Mirza/Mate Pavic storm into Mixed Doubles second round
Sania Mirza and Mate Pavic contested a thrilling encounter in their first-round Mixed Doubles match at the Wimbledon 2022 to enter the next round after fantastic performances from both former World No. 1's.
Sania Mirza (Source: Luke Mayes)
Indian tennis queen Sania Mirza displayed her champion attitude on Court 14 at the All England Club where she, alongside Olympic gold medallist Mate Pavić registered an impressive victory against the unseeded pair of David Vega Hernández and Natela Dzalamidze, 6-4, 3-6, 7(10)-6(3) to enter the second round of Wimbledon 2022.
Playing some quality tennis, the pair of former World No. 1's in doubles, Sania Mirza and Mate Pavić, seeded sixth at the grass-court Grand Slam, roused up a storm on Court 14 to loud cheers from the crowd as they played some sensational tennis, showcasing their experience.
After securing the first set with great service games, Sania Mirza and Mate Pavic ran into a bit of an ill-luck in the second with Vega and Natela putting the pressure on the Mirza serve to break her in the second set, forcing the match into a deciding set.
However, throughout the match it was Sania Mirza who kept surprising the crowd, her partner and mostly herself, as she scampered to hit a few solid returns, commanded the baseline, made beautifully angled returns, held her serve to love on more than a couple of occasions and especially during a tricky deuce game on Vega's serve, put a lot of pressure and gifted Pavic and herself the first match point opportunity in the third set.
Although Mirza's run in the women's doubles event came to an early halt after she lost with her partner Lucie Hradecka to Magdalena Fręch and Beatriz Haddad Maia, 6-4, 4-2, 2-6, her journey at Wimbledon is yet not over as she has sailed into the second round of Mixed Doubles after an impressive outing with the reigning Tokyo Olympics men's doubles champion.
