DOHA — Top ranked women’s doubles pair Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza had their 41-match winning streak halted Thursday after they were beaten in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open.
The Swiss and Indian, the current Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champions, were beaten 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 by Russian duo Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina.
Mirza and Hingis had started their win streak in September at the US Open, the first of nine straight titles. If they had won the Qatar event they would have tied Natasha Zvereva of Belarus and Czech Jana Novotna’s 1990 mark of 44 consecutive wins.
The longest women’s doubles win streak is 109 matches, set by American pair Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver between 1983 and 1985.
In the singles section, former Wimbledon junior champion Jelena Ostapenko breezed into the semifinals. The 18-year-old Latvian won 6-4, 6-3 against China’s Zheng Saisai who earlier in the week had beaten Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.
Ostapenko, who won at Wimbledon in 2014, plays Andrea Petkovic in the last four. Petkovic beat fourth-seeded Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Muguruza’s compatriot Carla Suarez Navarro, the No. 8 seed, ensured Spanish representation in the semifinals with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Russia’s Elena Vesnina.
Suarez Navarro will play the top remaining seed, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who came from a set down to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 against Italy’s Roberta Vinci.
Thiem downs Dimitrov
Fourth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem won a battle of rising ATP stars Thursday, downing Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-2 to reach the semifinals of the Mexico Open.
Thiem will play American Sam Querrey for a place in the final. Querrey defeated 18-year-old compatriot Taylor Fritz 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Friday’s other semi-final will pit fifth-seeded Australian Bernard Tomic against Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. Tomic edged Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko 7-5, 7-5 while Dolgopolov cruised past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-3.
In women’s action, second seeded American Sloane Stephens defeated Japanese wild card Naomi Osaka 6-3, 7-5 to set up a semi-final clash with eighth-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, who upset third-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova advanced to the semis with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Swede Johanna Larsson.
Cibulkova next faces American Christina McHale, who defeated Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-2.
Paire and Bellucci out
The top-seeded Benoit Paire of France and No. 2 Thomaz Bellucci lost in the second round of the Brazil Open Thursday.
Paire fell to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Home crowd favorite Bellucci was ousted by Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Meanwhile, No. 3 and defending champion Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay reached the quarterfinals when he beat Facundo Bagnis of Argentina 6-3, 7-5. — Agencies
