Luisa Stefani & Rafael Matos Win Australian Open Mixed Doubles Title to Become First All-Brazilian Team to Win Grand Slam

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos are celebrating a historic win Down Under…

The 25-year-old Brazilian professional tennis player and her 27-year-old compatriot defeated Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna 7-6 (2), 6-2 on Friday to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title.

With the win, Stefani and Matos become the first all-Brazilian team to win a Grand Slam.

The Brazilian pair took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker, and Mirza and Bopanna fought back to 3-2, but that was to be the last points the Indian duo took. They missed two overheads in a row, including Mirza’s shot into the net on set point.

Stefani and Matos broke Mirza’s serve in the fourth game of the second set to go up 3-1, with the break point coming after a lengthy exchange between the teams.

Stefani and Matos are undefeated as a team, having won all seven matches together at the United Cup and at Melbourne Park.

Stefani said an invitation from Matos to play together on her return from a serious knee injury provided inspiration as she completed her rehabilitation last year.

“It was about Wimbledon time last year, and he asked me how I was doing,” she said. “I was doing rehab. … That was a big motivation for me to keep working hard and keep getting closer to coming back.

“Now here we are, winning our first Grand Slam together in Australia in this beautiful court. … It’s a dream come true.”

Cabal Claims First Grand Slam Title for Colombia in More Than 40 Years

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Life’s a grand slam for Juan Sebastian Cabal…

The 30-year-old Colombian tennis player and his partner Abigail Spears defeated second-seeded Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-4, in the final on Sunday to take home the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open.

This was only the second Grand Slam event as a team for Spears and Cabal, who lost in the first-round at the French Open last year.

With the victory, Cabal is celebrating his Grand Slam breakthrough, having been runner-up with Argentine Eduardo Schwank in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles. He had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in previous mixed doubles at Melbourne Park.

Spears and Cabal built on a brilliant 4-0 start to grab the opening set and continued to apply pressure with their consistency through the second. At 4-4, Dodig double-faulted to lose his serve and Cabal stepped up to close out the victory.

Cabal is the first Colombian in more than 40 years to win a Grand Slam.

Previously, Ivan Molina and Martina Navratilova teamed up to win the 1974 French Open mixed doubles title, beating Rosie Reyes Darmon and Marcello Lara 6–3, 6–3 in the final.

Cabal & Abigail Spears Reach Mixed Doubles Final at Australian Open

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Sebastian Cabal is getting a second chance to become a Grand Slam champion…

The 30-year-old Colombian tennis player and his partner Abigail Spears defeated Elina Svitolina and Chris Guccione, 7-6, 6-2, in the semifinals to reach the Mixed Doubles championship round at this year’s Australian Open.

It’s Cabal’s second appearance in a Grand Slam final, his first in mixed doubles. He previously played in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles final with Eduardo Schwank, losing a close match to Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi in three sets.

Cabal and Spears will play Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in the mixed doubles final on Margaret Court Arena.

It’s only the third time a Colombian player has reached a Grand Slam final. Following Cabal’s appearance in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles final, Robert Farah appeared in the mixed doubles final at last year’s Wimbledon. He and partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld lost to Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen in straight sets.

Garcia Reaches Women’s Doubles Final at the French Open

Posted on June 3, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Caroline Garcia has reached her first Grand Slam women’s doubles final…

The 22-year-old part-Spanish tennis player and her partner Kristina Mladenovic beat Margarita Gasparyan and Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in Friday’s semifinal at the French Open.

The all-French team, the obvious local favorites at Roland Garros, will face off against Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia in the final.

Last year, Garcia reached the third round at the French Open with then partner Katarina Srebotnik.

But this year, Garcia and Mladenovic won the women’s doubles title at the Mutua Madrid Open, defeating the No. 1 seeded team of Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in the final, 6–4, 6–4.

Soares & Partner Sania Mirza Claim Mixed Doubles Crown at the U.S. Open

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bruno Soares has returned to the winner’s circle at the U.S. Open…

The 32-year-old Brazilian tennis player clinched his second mixed doubles title at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Soares and his partner Sania Mirza overcame a few anxious moments in the match tie break to win the title.

The top seeded pair squandered five straight championship points before scoring a 6-1 2-6 11-9 win over Abigail Spears of the USA and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico in exactly 60 minutes.

Spears sent a backhand volley long after making it 9-9 from 4-9, as Soares and Mirza heaved a big sigh of relief.

It was first time that the two were playing together as a pair.

“Playing with him is a lot of fun. He did not play with me all these years not sure why?” gushed Mirza after the win and confirmed that the pairing will continue for the Australian Open.

Soares had previously won the Mixed Doubles title at the U.S. Open in 2012 with Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova.

Soares and Makarova won the title after defeating fourth-seeded Květa Peschke and Marcin Matkowski in the final 6–7^(8–10), 6–1, [12–10].

González Makes a Strong Showing at the French Open

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

He may not have raised the championship trophy at the French Open, but Santiago González still has plenty of reason to be proud of his performance at Roland Garros.

The 29-year-old Mexican tenista and his mixed doubles partner Klaudia Jans-Ignacek—who lost in the finals on Thursday to No. 7 seeds Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi 7-6(3), 6-1—weren’t even expected to make it past the first round.

González and Jans-Ignacek weren’t ranked coming into the tournament, but defeated No. 8 seeds Nadia Petrova and Daniel Nestor in the first round to lay down a marker.

And the unheralded pairing looked like they would continue their Parisian fairy-tale right through to the title when they broke Mirza’s first service game to lead 2-0. But Gonzalez could not serve out the first set at 5-4, allowing the Indian team to get back on serve. The set would end in a tie-break, with Mirza and Bhupathi winning it 7-3.

In the second set, it seemed like the magic was gone with Bhupathi and Mirza cruising to two breaks and winning 6-1.

For González—who won a gold medal in mixed doubles at last year’s Pan American Games in Guadalajara—it was his best showing at a Grand Slam tournament, besting his previous-best showing at this year’s Australian Open.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Sania Mirza