Twitter bids emotional farewell to Sania Mirza after loss at Australian Open mixed doubles final

01/27/2023

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The Indian mixed doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost to the Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in the Australian Open 2023 mixed doubles final on Friday. This was also Mirza's last Grand Slam match, as she had announced her retirement way back in advance.

The Indian duo lost 7(7)-6(2), 6-2 by their younger opponents, Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos, who were appearing in their first-ever Grand Slam final. Meanwhile, it wasn't the best of starts for the Indians in the match, and after their serve was broken. Eventually, they went on to lose the set after it went in the tie-break.

The second game was way easier for the Brazilians, as they made short work of the Indians and pocketed their first Australian Open title. But as soon as the match ended, it was an out[our of emotions for Mirza, who started her Grand Slam journey at the Australian Open, way back in 2005. Twitter users also rushed to send in their messages for the legendary Indian player.

Last hurrah!

“My professional career started in Melbourne… I couldn’t think of a better arena to finish my [Grand Slam] career at.”

We love you, Sania ❤️ • •
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen)

Goodbye, champ

A trailblazer for women in sport 🇮🇳🎾

Thank you, Sania ❤️ • •
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen)

Straight from heart

Well played . You still make us proud. A final in your last Slam is something to be proud of
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha)

Legend retires

Going out on a GRAND stage 😎 |
— wta (@WTA)

Truly an inspiration

Congratulations on a wonderful career. Thank you for your service to Indian sport and for inspiring millions of girls to take up sport !
— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra)

End of an era