Sania Mirza, Somdev Devvarman enter singles finals

Down one set and trailing 1-3 to Australian sixth seed Olivia Rogowska in the second, Sania Mirza looked shattered and completely clueless on the centre court of the RK Khanna Tennis Stadium. Desperate for some inspiration, she looked up towards her coach, her father and then her husband, cricketer Shoaib Malik.

“Come on Sania, you can,” Shoaib said to her. A faint smile appeared on Mirza’s worried face. Perhaps, it was that reassurance about her abilities she was looking for, and got it from the right source. Suddenly, things changed. Mirza broke Rogowska in the following game, held on to her serve - which she did very rarely through the match - and then closed down the set 6-4 to take it to the decider.

Sania won the match to enter the final, beating Rogowska 1-6 6-4 6-4. But it was not the only time in the match that Mirza looked up to Malik for inspiration. At most of the crucial points, it took just one glance, a gesture by Malik telling her to relax and that smile got things back on track.

Later, Sania confessed that his presence did make her feel more confident. “It is always good to have your loved ones around. Shoaib’s presence is a great morale booster for me. Like you saw today, he helps me maintain my cool and motivate me. It’s soothing to have him here,” she said.

Sania put up a resolute display in the second set after going down cheaply in the first. After being down 1-3 she broke back Rogowska in the fourth and the sixth games to make it a set all.

In the decider Sania, backed by a raucous crowd, notched up a 4-1 lead before winning the set 6-4 and the match in a little less than two hours.

“There are days when you are not at your best. She (Rogowska) was playing absolutely great, but taking no credit away from her, I also allowed her to play like that. Hopefully, I will not play like this tomorrow,” Sania said.

But as Sania mingled with her husband post her match, there was bigger disappointment and disbelief a little later when top seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were knocked out by fourth-seeded Australian pair Peter Luczak and Paul Hanley 6-2 6-2 in the men’s doubles semifinals.

Lee-Hesh, who were troubled in their quarterfinals on Thursday looked far from their best and were easily bundled out by their Australian rivals. Also bowing out in the semis was the pair of Somdev Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna. They went down to Englishmen Ross Hutchins and Ken Skupski 6-3 3-6 4-6.

The onus to win gold in tennis will now be on Sania and Somdev Devvarman. The top ranked Indian man beat Australian Matt Ebden 6-3 6-1. Sania was hopeful of the duo winning the yellow metal for the country.

“No one would have thought four years ago that I and Som will be on the verge of winning a gold medal for India. It’s a great feeling. Hopefully, we will not disappoint,” she said.