Sania, cara crowned champions

Sania Mirza and her new doubles partner Cara Black stormed their way back from two match points down to humble Hao-Ching and Liezel Huber and capture the Pan Pacific Open doubles title in Tokyo on Saturday. The unseeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair registered a 4-6, 6-0, 11-9 victory over the Chinese Taipei-American combination in one hour and 25 minutes of roller-coaster tennis in the high-profile event, considered only a rung below the Grand Slams. This was Sania’s fourth title of the season out of five finals, a creditable achievement for the Hyderabadi, considering that she’s had a tough time finding a steady partner this year — she has teamed up with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Liezel Huber, Jie Zheng and now Cara Black. Cara could not hold serve in the first set to give Hao-Ching and Liezel early advantage. However, the Zimbabwean picked up her game in the second set. Sania then began to dominate and levelled the match at one-set all. In the super tie-break, Sania and Cara were on the ropes with two match points down at 7-9 before reeling off four straight points to burst out in celebration.