Melbourne, Australia

Indian tennis legend Sania Mirza has bowed out of her last Grand Slam doubles match at the ongoing 2023 Australian Open (AO) on Sunday. Taking on the unseeded pair of Anhelina Kalinina and Alison Van Uytvanck in the second round, Sania and her partner Anna Danilina lost 4-6, 6-4, 2-6 on Court 7 at the Melbourne Park. This loss, however, doesn’t completely end Sania’s final Grand Slam run at the AO as she is slated to partner with her compatriot Rohan Bopanna in the second round of the mixed doubles category on Tuesday.

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Having already announced earlier that the 2023 Australian Open will be her last Grand Slam as she had decided to retire from professional tennis after next month’s WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, Sania would have loved to reach deep in the doubles category at the Australian Open.

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After losing the first set 4-6, the eighth seeded pair of Sania and Anna were staring at the defeat as they were 0-3 down in the following set too. Upon receiving tremendous support from the crowd, they made a stunning return by winning four straight games and eventually the set. It was during then only when Sania looked in her good old touch, smashing her famous forehand flicks with utter ease.

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After leveling the three-set game 1-1, Sania and Anna failed to carry on the momentum in the decider. Being 0-3 down was always going to hurt their chances plus unforced errors didn't help the cause either. Despite showing little resistance in the third and final set, the pair went down 2-6, thus losing the match inside 2 hours and a minute.

Disappointment of pilling up 38 unforced errors was very much visible on Sania’s face while she exited the court. The three-time doubles Grand Slam winner will now hope for a final swansong in the mixed doubles category – in which she had won the top prize thrice in the past.