Sania, Martina start off 2016 with Brisbane title

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis carried the dominance of 2015 into the new season, winning their sixth consecutive title by lifting the WTA Brisbane trophy. The top seeded pair defeated the German wildcards Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic 7-5 6-1 in mere 69 minutes. Sania and Martina, the world number one team, have now stitched a 26-match winning streak together, which has brought them six titles in a row at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing, WTA Finals and now the Brisbane Title.

It is the longest winning streak since Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci’s 25 in a row in 2012. Sara and Roberta had won five titles in a row, at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the French Open and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The top seeds drew the first blood by breaking the rivals in the second game but the joy was short-lived as Kerber and Petkovic reeled off four straight games to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set. Sania and Martina though were not perturbed, having defused such situations many times in the last few months.

The top seeds controlled the game better in the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead by breaking their rivals in the second game. It was a cakewalk for them from there, losing only one game before closing the match in their favour.