Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis beat Russian pair Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-7(5-7), 10-3 to clinch the Italian Open doubles title on Sunday. The victory provided a big boost to the Indo-Swiss pair in the lead-up to the French Open, where they will be looking to win their fourth straight Grand Slam doubles title.
This was the pair's third straight clay final appearance and their first win on the surface this season, after finishing runners-up at Stuttgart and Madrid earlier this year. It was also their 14th title victory as partners.
After powering through the first set against their opponents, who were playing only in their second tournament since last summer, Mirza-Hingis took a 5-3 lead in the second set, only to let it slip and concede the set. However, they made their experience count in the super tiebreaker once again to win it 10-3 and secure their first ever title on red clay.
Having won at Wimbledon (2015), US Open (2015) and Australian Open (2016), the pair would complete a non-calendar year Grand Slam - fondly known as the 'Santina Slam' - if they win the French Open this year.
While Hingis has won at Roland Garros twice in her doubles career (In 1998 with Jana Novotná and in 2000 with Mary Pierce), Sania is yet to win a French Open title. She lost the final in 2011 with Elena Vesnina.
first clay court title! woohoo! @MirzaSania @InteBNLdItalia #ibi16 pic.twitter.com/IaOwo2rodF
— Martina Hingis (@mhingis) May 15, 2016