The Hindu : Sport : Sania-Huber duo triumphs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2006

Sport

Sport

Sania-Huber duo triumphs

Nandita Sridhar

Bangalore : So what that it was a duo with a heavily taped elbow and a heavily braced left leg that prevailed in a heavily charged atmosphere? So what that it was a match with more number of `quiet please' calls than line calls? So what that a large number of people could have left with heavily taped necks and hands of their own, in pursuit of a post-match tennis ball?

Nothing mattered, when the sole reason behind the ear-shattering atmosphere at the KSLTA Kingfisher Stadium did not falter at the summit. Sania Mirza and Liezel Huber did not break into too much of a sweat while winning the Bangalore Open doubles title, by beating Russians Anastassia Rodionova and Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday.

Good start

A break in the first game of the match was a huge boost for the Indo-South African pair.

After that the volleys, piercing and passing shots and the likes formed a pattern akin to the latter part of the semifinal.

Though Rodionova and Vesnina, like Shahar Peer and Mariya Koryttseva missed some easy volleys, they pulled off a few unbelievable passes too.

With the crowd pushing the duo, Sania and Huber rolled over their opponents in one hour and 14 minutes for the top prize and $8250.

"How can you not win with so many people supporting you?" said Huber, comparing the atmosphere to a Fed Cup match.

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