US Open: Mahesh Bhupathi, Martina Hingis aim to dominate mixed doubles event
Bhupathi and Hingis last played together in 2006 when they won the Australian Open. The Indian will also be seen in the men's doubles event.
India's Mahesh Bhupathi will partner five-time Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis in their mixed doubles campaign at the US Open. While it is the last Grand Slam for 39-year-old Bhupathi, it will be Hingis' first major since announcing her comeback post retirement.
Though unseeded at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Bhupathi and Hingis will hope to replicate their Australian Open 2006 success when they take on Chinese Taipei's Jan Chan Yung and Sweden's Robert Lindstedt in the first round. Bhupathi will also play the men's doubles, partnering Germany's Philipp Petzschner.
On Wednesday, India's campaign in the US Open got off to an auspicious start when Somdev Devvarman powered past Slovakia's Lukas Lacko in the men's singles category. He won the 5-setter first-round clash 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
The other highlights for Indian fans in the mixed doubles event include Rohan Bopanna and Germany's Julia Goerges who will play against the unseeded pair of Abigail Spears from USA and Santiago Gonzalez from Mexico. Also, Sania Mirza will partner Romanian Horia Tecau and the two meet eighth seeds Liezel Huber of USA and Marcelo Melo of Brazil in the first round match.
Leander Paes, however, will not feature in mixed doubles but will play the men's doubles with Radek Stepanek. The fourth-seeds will play Jarkko Nieminen of Finland and Russia's Dmitry Tursunov in first round.
The third Indian in the fray in the men's doubles category is Bopanna, who partners Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The sixth-seeded duo, who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, will play USA's Bradley Klahn and Sam Querrey in the opener. Interestingly, India's rookie Davis Cupper Divij Sharan makes his Grand Slam debut, partnering Taipei's Yen-Hsun Lu in doubles. The two face Dutch pair of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling in the opener.
Sania, ranked 16th in the women's doubles, will partner China's Zie Jheng. The 10th seeds take on Annika Beck of Germany and Monica Puig of Puerto Rico in round one.
For all the latest updates and results, check out our US Open coverage here.