Sania-Martina march into Italian Open semis

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss doubles partner, Martina Hingis, have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Italian Open after securing a straight sets win in the women's doubles event in Rome on Friday.

The top-ranked pair outclassed American duo of Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears 6-4, 6-2 in the thrilling quarter-final contest that lasted for an hour and six minutes.

Sania and Hingis, the Australian Open champions, are eyeing their 14th women's doubles title together.

Since their 41 match-winning streak ended in Doha, the Indo-Swiss pair has stumbled in recent tournaments, going down in the Madrid Masters and Stuttgart Open finals, while making a second-round exits at the Miami Masters as well as at the Indian Wells.