Mason: Sania Mirza and her Polish partner Marta Domachowska failed to raise their game at crucial junctures as they went down 4-6 6-3 2-6 to top seed Italian-Argentine pair of Maria Elena Camerin and Gisela Dulko in the women’s doubles final of the $ 175,000 Cincinnati Open.
The Indo-Polish pair, seeded third in the event, only had their inconsistency and poor serve to blame for the loss. Sania and Marta were leading 2-0 in the first set but committed three double faults after that to allow their opponents to make a comeback.
The top seeds took full advantage of the follies committed by Sania-Marta and clinched the opener in 42 minutes.
The third seeds than made a remarkable recovery in the second set after losing the opening game and won four consecutive games to equalise in just over half an hour. The hard-hitting Indo-Polish duo caught their rivals off guard as they hit 27 winners — apart from breaking them four times — to take the match into the third set.
The decider was a test of nerves but Sania and Marta failed miserably on this count as they committed five double faults and lost five consecutive games to lose the championship to the top seeds, who it seemed saved their best for the last to claim their maiden title together.
However, despite being inconsistent, Sania and Marta were praised by their opponents. “We were a little surprised at how hard they were hitting the ball. None of the teams we played before in this tournament hit it that hard. We were also surprised at how solid they were from the baseline and the net too. It was really tough,” Camerin said at the post-match press conference.
Sania slips in ranking
Meanwhile, Sania has slipped by two places in her singles rankings despite making the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open in the singles. She is now ranked 42. However, her doubles standing has improved and she has reached a career high of 31st.
