Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna reached the Mixed Doubles final at the Australian Open 2023 after defeating Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 10-6 in the semifinals. It will be a massive occasion for Mirza when the duo takes on L Stefani and R Matos of Brazil in the summit clash as this will be the last Grand Slam appearance for the Indian tennis player. The semifinal victory was made extra special for Mirza as her four-year-old son Izhaan Malik came running towards her to hug her after the match. Mirza took him in her arms and kissed him.
Bopanna also shared a similar moment with his daughter as she also came running into the court after the victory. He was Mirza's first ever mixed doubles partner and it will be fitting that he will appear in the final alongside her before Mirza plays her final tournament in Dubai.
"It was an amazing match, there was a lot of nerves. It's my last slam and it's so special to play with Rohan. He was my first mixed doubles partner when I was 14 and today I'm 36 and he is 42 and we are still playing, we have a solid relationship," Sania said after the match.
They rolled into the semi-finals of the ongoing Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles event after the duo was handed a walkover in their quarters clash at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Mirza and Bopanna were slated to face Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko and David Vega Hernandez of Spain in their final-eight clash but advanced after their opponents decided to withdraw.
(With PTI inputs)