They are the top seeds in the ladies’ doubles event. And on Tuesday at Wimbledon, they moved a step closer to facing off on opposite sides of the net in the mixed tournament. Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, the dominant doubles combination of 2015, both won through to the quarter-finals of the mixed event.
Their victories, however, could not have come in more contrasting circumstances. Hingis, playing with Leander Paes, beat the Kiwi-Aussie pairing of Artem Sitak and Anastasia Rodionova 6-2, 6-2 in just 55 minutes.
Mirza, alongside Bruno Soares of Brazil, was stretched to three sets before subduing the Croatian pairing of Marin Draganja and Ana Konjuh 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3.
Hingis and Paes are the No.7 seeds at Wimbledon, perhaps a slightly misleading number next to their names given their doubles credentials. The duo own a combined 26 Grand Slam doubles titles and are the reigning Australian Open mixed champions; their next opponents will be the winner of the match between No.3 seeds Marcin Matkowski and Elena Vesnina, and Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova, the No.16 seeds.
Mirza and Soares are the No.2 seeds, yet encountered a spirited team late on Tuesday on Court 6. After breezing through the first set, they encountered stiffer resistance from Draganja and Konjuh in the second; the Croats were able to laugh off some entertaining errors deep in the set, and this relaxed approach seemed to assist them in the tense environment of the tie-break.
Yet Mirza and Soares – the reigning US Open mixed champions – proved the stronger pairing; Mirza picked off a forehand volley to seal victory in one hour and 37 minutes.
The Indian-Brazilian duo will next take on No.5 seeds Alexander Peya and Timea Babos, who survived a late surge from Austria’s Oliver Marach and Ukrainian Olga Savchuk before winning 6-3, 7-6(6).
After winning, Babos was congratulated courtside by her Hungarian countrywoman Andrea Temesvari, who is playing this year in the ladies’ invitational doubles event.
In the only other mixed match of the day, No.8 seeds Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic rallied to overcome No.9 seeds Juan-Sebastian Cabal and Cara Black, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.
Scores were locked at 3-3 in the third before Mladenovic unleashed a pair of powerful winners down the doubles alley on successive points past her opponents at the net. The performance bought her entourage to its feet in the stands and seemed to imbue the No.8 seeds with confidence – they did not drop another game.
Nestor and Mladenovic – both with Serbian heritage but who represent Canada and France respectively – are bidding to capture a third Grand Slam mixed title as a pair, after winning at Wimbledon in 2013 and at Melbourne Park last year. They face a projected quarter-final date with top seeds Mike Bryan and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
