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Bhupathi-Hingis win Australian Open January 29, 2006 12:43 IST Last Updated: January 29, 2006 13:46 IST India's doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi and former world number one Martina Hingis shocked sixth seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Russia's Elena Likhovsteva to win the Australian Open mixed doubles title in Melbourne on Sunday.
Bhupathi has now won 10 Grand Slam titles, while Hingis took her Grand Slam tally to 15. Today's success with Bhupathi was her first Grand Slam mixed doubles title. Hingis, making a comeback to Grand Slam tennis, had reached the women's singles quarter-finals in her first appearance since injury forced her into premature retirement in 2002. The Swiss won five Grand Slam singles titles, including three straight Australian crowns from 1997-99, and was also a leading doubles player. She won 36 doubles titles before retiring, including nine Grand Slams, but rarely played mixed doubles. "If everyone was asking me why I came back, these are definitely the occasions...," Hingis said after the victory. "To Mahesh, thank you very much. You took a huge risk because no one was sure how good I was going to be; thanks for taking the courage and playing with me," said Hingis. This was Bhupathi's third straight mixed doubles Grand Slam victory after winning Wimbledon and US Open with France's Mary Pierce and Slovakia's Daniel Hantuchova respectively in 2005. He is one of the hottest properties on the mixed doubles circuit, having won six mixed doubles titles with six different partners. Bhupathi's Grand Slam titles:
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