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.
