It was a very important day for Indian tennis as two of their best players were in the finals of French Open together. Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza were playing for their second Grand Slam title and they achieved what the whole nation was expecting from them. They won the coveted title at the Roland Garros.

What makes this win important is the fact that the London Olympics is not that far away and the Indian tennis team will know that their chances of ensuring a medal are in this pair’s hand. India does have some strong doubles team, but going by the current form this is a pair on which you want to put your money on.

Bhupathi and Leander Paes have been the best men’s doubles pair for India in the past and it is looking as if Bhupathi-Mirza will be the mixed doubles pair to watch out for in the future. Bhupathi is one of the most experienced players in the Tennis circuit and is considered to be one of the best doubles players ever. It is a fact that when Sania was growing up, Bhupathi was her favourite player. And now they are playing together and are performing brilliantly.
The finals showed what the pair is made of. They showed early jitters in the match, but were unstoppable once they got their eye on the opponents. Bhupathi showed all his experience and controlled the game and Sania with her powerful ground strokes bombarded the opposition.   

The seventh seeded pair of Mirza- Bhupathi has a good record since the time they joined hands. In the year 2008, they played some outstanding tennis in the Australian Open to reach the finals. Their magic did not work in the finals and they went down in straight sets. But before getting down in the finals the pair showed that they have good co-ordination between them and gelled well as a player. It looked like a pair which will do well in the coming tournaments.
Both the players are very good friends off the field and they have said that this fact has really helped them in tough situations.

Australian Open 2009 saw both Bhupathi and Mirza in their best touch, they stormed into the finals and this time emerged as champions. In the finals they defeated Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram 6–3, 6–1. That was Sania Mirza’s first Grand Slam title and Bhupathi’s 11th title.


Sania Mirza’s performance in singles category has been below par and that has made her focus more on her doubles’ game. Sania struggles to make a mark in singles because she suffers when the rally goes long, she hits far too many unforced errors and her week serve does not go well in singles. In doubles the rallies are relatively shorter and she can make full use of her powerful forehand.

This year the pair has been particularly good, reaching the semi-finals of the year’s first Grand Slam the Australian Open and winning the following Grand Slam.

Talking about Olympics, this pair really has a very good chance in the Olympics. The tournament will be played on the grass court and both players will be fancying their chances on that. Both players will be playing some tournaments on grass before going into the Olympics and that should really help them prepare.

Another advantage that they have is that unlike the grand slams where players from different countries can team up together and compete, in Olympics one can only team up with his/her country mate. India is lucky to have such a strong mixed doubles team as the level of competition in Olympics will surely be relatively easy comparing to any Grand Slam.

These two Indians have also been in a lot of controversies both on the professional and on personal level and both of them will be dying to prove a point to the Indian audience.

By Indian Sports News Network