India tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi
heaped praise on current women's doubles World No.1 Sania Mirza and her
partner Swiss veteran Martina Hingis and for their tremendous season
this year which saw them clinch nine doubles titles, including two Grand
Slams. (Sania Mirza - Martina Hingis Secure Year-End No.1 Ranking)
Bhupathi
said the Indo-Swiss pair will continue to win Grand Slams for the next
few years with the form they are currently in. (Rafael Nadal to Lead
Indian Aces in IPTL)
The unstoppable duo of Mirza and Swiss
veteran Hingis came up with another stupendous performance recently to
win the women's doubles title at the prestigious USD 7 million WTA
Finals in Singapore.
It was the pair's ninth title together
this season, having also won in Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, US Open (New
York), Wimbledon (London), Charleston, Miami and Indian Wells.
Sania
also won the Sydney International in January with American Bethanie
Mattek-Sands to take her doubles trophy count to 10 this year.
"Sania
has been an inspiration. She has really worked hard over the last three
years. It is not about just this year she has performed consistently.
She is putting herself in a position to win matches," Bhupathi said at a
press conference here.
"She
has also found someone who can complement each other very well that is
Martina Hingis. They are going to continue winning Grand Slams for the
next few years," he added.
Bhupathi also opined that alongside
mixed doubles, the men's doubles duo of Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes
may win medals for India in the 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de
Janerio, Brazil.
"Alongside mixed doubles, men's doubles have a
great chance to clinch medals in the Rio Olympics. Both Rohan-Leander
are world class players and they also have a great chance to win," the
41-year-old said.
The 15-time Grand Slam winner also praised
current World No.89 Yuki Bhambri for breaking into the top 100 of the
men's singles in the ATP rankings, adding that will help him play in the
main draw of the singles in the Grand Slams next year.
"It has
been a very successful year for Indian tennis in the year. Five Grand
Slams for the country. Yuki is now 89 in the world and is going to play
in the main draw of the singles in the Grand Slam next year. Sumit Nagal
and Karman Kaur Thandi are surely the future of Indian tennis in men’s
and women’s. Things are moving well," he said.