Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis lose in the final of Rome Masters

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis(right) with the runners-up award

World No.1 Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis were handed a 4-6 3-6 straight sets defeat by the pair of Kristina Mladenovic of France and Timea Babos of Hungary in one hour and 13 minutes in the final of the Rome Masters on Sunday.

The Indo-Swiss duo failed to convert both their break point opportunity in the first set and also won just 26 points as compared to their opponents 31. The second set saw the pair of Mladenovic and Babos take an early lead, only for the Indo-Swiss pair to make 1-1.

The next four games were held by both pairs, but the decisive shift in the match happened when the third seeds broke their opponents and held their serve to take a 5-3 lead. They then went on to attain 2 match points, one of which they managed to convert and that proved to be sufficient for them to clinch the title.

This certainly comes as a blow for the duo of Mirza and Hingis, particularly after they had retained the numero uno ranking after defeating Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebtonik 6-2 7-6 in the semifinal on Saturday.