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What's the story?
Making her comeback to the tennis court after a two-year maternity break, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza recorded a 2-6, 7-6(3), [10-3] win with her doubles partner Nadiia Kichenok against the duo of Oksana Kalashnikova and Miyu Kato. The Indo-Ukrainian duo has now progressed to the quarterfinals of the Hobart International 2020.
The background
Sania is one of the most decorated Indian tennis players of all time. After giving up on singles due to frequent injuries - she had reached as high as No. 29 at her peak - the Mumbai-born player has achieved tremendous success in doubles.
Mirza had formed a magnificent partnership with Martina Hingis during the 2015-16 season, and she even attained the number 1 ranking in doubles with her consistent performances.
The 33-year-old had taken a break from tennis in 2018 as she gave birth to her first child, and she made her return to the courts last night.
The heart of the matter
The thrilling three-set match tested the nerves of all the four players, but the pair of Sania and Kichenok seized the super-tiebreaker 10-3 to win the match. They had lost the first set quite easily before winning the second set in a tiebraker to keep the match alive.
Sania also shared a special message with her fans on Twitter after winning her first match in two years.
What's next?
Sania and Kichenok will next face the American team of Christina McHale and Vania King in the quarterfinals. McHale and King defeated fourth seeds Georgina Garcia Perez and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the pre-quarterfinals.
Sania will also feature at the upcoming Australian Open 2020. In particular, the Indian fans would be excited to see her team up with Rohan Bopanna - as the Indian pair will reunite for the first time since Rio Olympics 2016.
The two will also have an eye on the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020. If they do well together at the Australian Open and beyond, they would be front-runners to represent India at the global event later in the year.
