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Sania and Bopanna will play their quarterfinal tomorrow at 12 am IST, against the winner of the match between Andy Murray / Heather Watson and David Ferrer / Carla Suarez Navarro. That's a tough match-up, no matter who wins!
This is a great start for Sania and Bopanna, and a confirmation of their high seeding. They've never lost a match when they've represented India, and they were in the driver's seat today the moment they got that break of serve in the first set. While Bopanna's serve was a little shaky, he was excellent at the net and quite solid off the baseline. Sania, meanwhile, served brilliantly and unleashed her forehand on more than one occasion, and the Aussies were left non-plussed at the constant barrage coming from the other end.
MATCH POINT!
The Indians had a chance to break for the match but haven't. Now they'll serve for it.
And there it is! The Indian team is through to the mixed doubles quarterfinals!!!
2 match points for Bopanna and Sania!
Bopanna has consistently outwitted Stosur with the serve out wide, and the Indians are now 2 points away from the match.
Peers manages to get in a tough hold, which means the Indians will have to serve it out. Bopanna is due to take the ball in his hands any moment now, and he'd be favoured to get the job done. He hasn't been entirely flawless with his serve today though, so it'll be interesting to see whether there are any tense moments in this game.
Stosur/Peers 40-30... and now Mirza takes it to deuce! A break seals the match.
Fantastic down-the-line backhand from Bopanna elicits a volley error from Stosur, and we're at deuce.
But he comes up with a big serve just when he needed it, to give the Aussies game point at 40-30.
The Peers serve is totally unraveling right now, as he's coming up with one double fault after another.
Mirza and Bopanna need to break this game to win set and match - can they do it?
Straight down the line from Sania Mirza! If this were cricket, it would be a beautiful cover drive. Mirza thwacks it straight down midway through and the pair capitalize on win the game. They're now leading 5-3.
So Sania holds comfortably YET again, which means the Indians are just 1 game away from wrapping up this match! Meanwhile, news has just filtered in that Nadal and Muguruza have withdrawn from the mixed doubles, while the top 2 seeded teams have been knocked out. The chances of Sania and Bopanna winning a medal have just got a whole lot brighter.
There seems to be something magical in Sania's serve today, as neither Peers nor Stosur seem capable of returning it! And a lucky net-chord gives the Indians 2 game points for a 5-3 lead.
Stosur pulls out a tough hold, but the Indians still have the break lead. Sania hasn't been broken yet in this match, and her serve will once again be put under scrutiny as she and Bopanna look to put this match to bed. Will she remain as solid on her serve as she's been thus far?
Yet another double fault from the Aussies, this time from Stosur! The quality of play has dipped a little in the last 15 minutes. 30-30.
That was a bad forehand miss by Sania, and she lets go of the opportunity to put the Aussies' serve under pressure again. 30-15.
And they hold! Mirza and Bopanna lead 4-2 here and will want to close this out quickly.
Bopanna comes up with a clutch hold, and the Indians are just two games away from winning this match! You've got to say that they were let off the hook a little by the Aussies in that game though.
Whoa, Sania got lucky with that overhead there, which she shanked all the way up to the baseline. It fell just in though, and the Indians have game point for a 4-2 lead.
Another great second serve from Bopanna! 30-30.
An excellent kick serve on the second delivery brings it back to 15-30. He'll need to get his 1st serve in now though.
And now Bopanna throws in a couple of double faults! Is this a contagious disease or something? 0-30 with the Indians leading 7-5, 3-2.
Sania Mirza takes the break and India are now up 3-2 and serving to hold. Can they build on that lead?
Break point! The pair of Mirza and Bopanna are on the verge of drawing first blood in the second set.
A BIG double fault by Peers gives the Indians the break! That was a rather poor game from the Aussies, who fell apart for no apparent reason after going up 30-0. But the Indians will take it, and are now just 3 holds away from winning this match.
From 30-0 to 30-30, and suddenly the Indians can smell a break! Peers' serve under pressure now.
Two games all, both holds of serve. Looks like this is starting off much like the previous set.
Sania hasn't been broken yet in this match; in fact, she hasn't even faced a break point! That's impressive from the woman who has so often struggled with her serve in the past.
Peers has really struggled to return Sania's off-pace serves, and the Indians now have 2 game points to level this second set at 2-2.
Stosur targets Bopanna at the net with her lethal forehand, and we all know what the outcome of that is going to be. 0-15, 1-2 with Sania serving.
Easy as you do it from John Peers! The USO and Wimbledon finalist in the men's doubles, Peers had a successful partnership with Briton Jamie Murray on the ATP tour.
Stosur holds comfortably again, and it's 2-1 to the Aussies in the second set. The pace of the match has really picked up now, with both teams playing their best tennis at the same time.
Excellent cat-and-mouse point involving all the 4 players, and it ends with a fortunate net-chord that goes the way of the Indians! 15-15.
And the Indians are finally on the board in the second set, thanks to some deft volleying by Sania!
Stosur hasn't been able to anticipate Bopanna's serve out wide, and she misses yet another return to give the Indians game point.
Bopanna is struggling to close out this game, and the Aussies aren't making it easy. Third deuce.
Stosur gets her forehand back just in the nick of time, as she unleashes a big strike crosscourt that Sania can't handle. Deuce again.
The Stosur forehand is falling apart a little here, but she continues to look supremely confident with her volleying as she wins a clever point at the net. Deuce on Bopanna's serve now.
Australia have quickly taken their first service game here. Time for vengeance?
The Aussies making quite a few errors now, and Sania just got away with a badly executed swing volley that she really should have put away. 30-15.
Comfortable hold by Peers to start the second set, and now it'll be Bopanna looking to get his big serve in action again.
Still a lot of work to be done in this match though; Sania and Bopanna wouldn't want to lose focus at the start of this second set.
India win the first set 7-5.
A netted shot from John Peers gives India the set!
Sania and Bopanna weren't exactly flawless in that first set, but they did what they had to in the big moments to come away with the win. Bopanna was really imposing at the net, and Sania hit the spots with her serve, as they managed to just hold off the Aussies' charge.
And they've done it! 1st set to the Indians 7-5.
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We will be back with our live tennis coverage tomorrow. Until then, it's goodbye from us, and good night!