Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza registered their first Grand Slam title together, crushing Andy Ram and Natalie Dechy in straight sets in the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open on Sunday.
The Indian wild card pair proved too good for the Israeli-French duo, thrashing them 6-3, 6-1 in 55 minutes.
The win also gave Bhupathi his 11th Grand Slam title -- seventh in mixed doubles. This was also Bhupathi's second mixed doubles title here, following his 2006 triumph with Martina Hingis.
For Sania, it was her maiden Grand Slam title. They also got richer by $1,34,460. In the summit clash, Bhupathi was solid with his service and displayed great hands at the net throughout the match. Sania complemented him with powerful forehands.
The Indians started the match on a confident note, breaking Ram in the opening game and then Bhupathi holding his serve to go 2-0 up. They, however, could not hold on to their lead for long as Mirza lost her serve in the fourth game to hand Ram-Dechy duo the opportunity to level the scores at 2-2.
Bhupathi and Sania were soon in their elements, breaking Dechy and going 4-3 up. Subsequently, Sania held her serve and then rounded off the set with an immaculate forehand volley on Ram's serve.
Despite the comforting lead, the Indians showed no mercy to Ram and Dechy in the second set and breezed their way to the title. The only moment when they looked under some sort of pressure was in the third game of the second set but Sania weathered Ram's full-blooded shots to held her serve.
The Indians broke their opponents twice in the second set -- first Dechy in the fourth game and then Ram in the sixth game -- to go up 5-1. Sania then rounded off the encounter on her service game to pocket the title.
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