Sania storms into Hobart International doubles final

Hobart : Former World No.1 Sania Mirza continued her dream comeback to the WTA circuit when on Friday she entered the women's doubles final at the ongoing Hobart International.

Mirza, back from a two-year absence from the tour after having her baby, paired with Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenok to win their semi-final clash over Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic and Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek, 7-6(3), 6-2, and move into the summit clash.

Mirza and Kichenok beat Bouzkova and Zidansek in a match that lasted one hour and 24 minutes. The Indo-Ukranian pair had 15 break points in the match and were able to convert just four of them, but they were only broken twice in the match, to garner the straight-set victory.

The Indian star, who has three Grand Slam titles in women's doubles and another three Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles, is now into her 62nd WTA doubles final and would be seeking her 41st title.

The 33-year-old Indian, who has spent 91 weeks as the top-ranked player in the WTA doubles rankings in her career, had not played on the WTA since a semi-final run at the 2017 China Open. During her time away from the circuit, she gave birth to her first child, Izhaan, who has been on site in Hobart this week.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player Mirza and Kichenok will now face the second-seeded Chinese pair of Zhang Shuai and Peng Shuai on Saturday.