Picture Credit: AFP
The pair of India's tennis star Sania Mirza and America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands has comfortably advanced to the second round of Wimbledon 2021. The two put up a dominant performance against their opponents Alexa Guarachi and Desirae Krawczyk to clinch the first round at the grass-court event.
While the Indo-American pair sealed the first set 7-5, it put a better performance in the proceeding set to seal the affair 6-3 to advance to the second round. It took one hour and 28 minutes for Sania and her teammate to defeat the sixth-seeded pair.
"It was just like old times," said Sania after the victory, adding, "We were joking that we were the spring chickens, flying the flag for players born in the 1980s as all the girls in the draw seem to be from the 90s."
It is worth noting that Sania had won the doubles title at The All England Lawn Tennis Championships alongside Martina Hingis in 2015.
Sania Mirza, Mattek-Sands pose for a picture with baby Izhaan
Sania's son Izhaan, who was also in the crowd cheering for mother and her teammate, was later seen sharing a picture with the duo. The Indian tennis ace took to social to post the picture with the caption, "Round 1, Smiles, Spiderman cheering us on Wimbledon."
Sania to face off with her Tokyo teammate Ankita Raina
Sania Mirza will play against her Tokyo teammate Ankita Raina in the mixed doubles of Wimbledon on Friday. The tennis veteran will have Rohan Bopanna on her side, while Ankita will be having Ramkumar Ramanathan.
It is worth noting that Sania and Ankita will pair to play in the women's doubles at the Tokyo Olympics starting July 23. Sania's appearance at the mega event will see her become the first Indian female athlete to play four Olympics.