Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have their eyes on the 2016 Australian Open women's doubles title as they prepare to face the seventh-seed Czech pairing of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in the final of the competition.
The Indo-Swiss pair has played some brilliant tennis en route to the final of the competition, defeating opponents with relative ease. Sania and Hingis dropped only a single set in the competition, against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Coco Vandeweghe in the quarter-finals of the competition, else it has been a cakewalk.
Sania and Hingis looked a class apart in the semi-finals. They came up with some exquisite tennis to defeat the pairing of Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova in straight sets. The score read 6-1 and 6-0.
It is such kind of emphatic victories that helped Sania and Hingis clinch a number of titles last year. The top seeds have continued their amazing run this year as well, having won two titles already — Brisbane and Sydney International.
With the performances they have put up so far in the 2016 Australian Open, the title is not far away from the Indo-Swiss pair, which has won 35 matches on a trot so far. There is a great sense of understanding between Sania and Hingis, which makes them a dominant force in the circuit. Sania, with her aggressive game from the baseline, and Hingis, with her amazing reflexes at the net, make an ideal combination in the circuit.
Their final opponents, Hlavackova and Hradecka, know the huge task ahead of them in the final of the competition on Friday. They have played some high-intensity tennis against the Chinese pairing of Yi-Fan and Saisai Zheng, who lost the game in three sets. The score read 6-3, 3-6 and 1-6 in favour of the Czech pair.
The seventh-seeds have shown strong character in the year's first grand slam, having been tested in the earlier rounds of the competition as well, when they played great tennis to emerge triumphant. Though the top seeds are expected to win their 36th game on a trot and clinch the Australian Open title, Hlavackova and Hradecka are expected to give their best and stop them from clinching their maiden Australian Open title.
Where to watch live
Australian Open 2016 live match – Sania Mirza/Martina Hingis vs Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka is the second match at the Rod Laver Arena and is scheduled to start not before 4pm (10:30 am IST, 12 am ET, 5 am ET).
The live coverage of the Australian Open final Sania Mirza/Martina Hingis vs Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka will be shown on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in India, with the online live streaming option on Sonyliv.
The 2016 Australian Open final can be viewed live in the UK and Ireland on BBC, with live streaming on BBCiPlayer.
Eurosport and Eurosport Player will show the Australian Open 2016 final live — Sania Mirza/Martina Hingis vs Andrea Hlavackova/Lucie Hradecka — in the rest of Europe. Channel 7 will broadcast the Australian Open live in Australia.
US viewers can watch Australian Open live on ESPN with live streaming options on Watch ESPN.
Fox Sports will show the Australia Open matches live in South East Asia as well as South Korea.
