The Brazilian duo of Luisa Stefani/Rafael Matos defeated Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna in the Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles final, ending their fairytale run 6-7, 2-6 on Friday.
While Bopanna has only won one mixed doubles Grand Slam championship, Sania Mirza, who was competing in her final Grand Slam, has previously won three women's doubles Grand Slam titles and the same number in mixed doubles.
Talking after the game, Sania said: "If I cry, these are happy tears. I'm still going to play a couple more tournaments, but my career started in Melbourne in 2005, when I played Serena as an 18-year-old. RLA has been really special life. I couldn't think of a better arena to finish my last Grand Slam."
In the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2023, the unseeded Indian duo of Sania and Bopanna defeated third seeds Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski 7-6(5), 6-7(5), and 10-6. In their quarterfinal encounter, the duo had a walkover.
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