Farewell speech - Sania Mirza lets the heart do the talking
Sports
Mirza was in tears in the post-match presentation ceremony.
MELBOURNE (Web Desk) – Indian trailblazer Sania Mirza bowed out of Grand Slam tennis on Friday with defeat in the Australian Open mixed-doubles final playing alongside Rohan Bopanna -- her first playing partner 22 years ago.
The 36-year-old Mirza, regarded as her country s greatest women s tennis player, returned to Melbourne Park for one last hurrah and made it all the way to the decider. But she and 42-year-old Bopanna were unable to get over the line, losing 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 to Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos.
Mirza was in tears in the post-match presentation ceremony. "Rohan was my first-ever mixed-doubles partner at (aged) 14 and we won the nationals," said Mirza, a six-time Grand Slam champion, three in doubles and three in mixed.
"It was a long time ago, 22 years ago, and I couldn t think of a better person -- he s one of my best friends and best partners -- to finish my career here and to play the final.
"There s no better place for me, or person for me, to finish my Grand Slam career."
Mirza, who is married to former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, has a young son Izhaan and said it was incredible to play in front of him in a major final.
"I never thought that I would be able to play in front of my child in a Grand Slam final, so it s truly special to have my four-year-old and my parents here," she said.
Mirza, known as a feisty convention-breaker, was the first Indian to win a WTA singles title, in 2005 at her hometown Hyderabad.
She reached the fourth round of the US Open the same year and by 2007 was among the women s top 30.
But a wrist injury caused her to concentrate on doubles, forging a partnership with Swiss great Martina Hingis which produced three Grand Slam titles.
She is due to retire from all tennis after a tournament next month in Dubai, where she has lived for more than a decade and recently launched a tennis academy.
