Entering their third Grand Slam final of the year, Leander Paes and Martina Hingis became the first team since 1969 to win three Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles in the same season at the US Open on Friday.
The fourth seeds, however had to dig deep to dish out a win against the American duo Sam Querrey and Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 to add their wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, earlier this year.
Hingis, meanwhile, will get another opportunity to lift US Open glory, when she teams up with Sania Mirza for the women's doubles final.
"I just love to play tennis and I am fortunate to have Leander as my partner," said Hingis.
Paes and Hingis have fine-tuned their teamwork by playing together for Washington in the World Team Tennis league.
"Martina is a legend on and off the court," said Paes, who first played in New York in 1991 when he won the boys title.
"She`s my best friend. She`s just fantastic."
Paes and Hingis broke Mattek-Sands at love to take a 2-1 lead in the opening set as the Swiss miss hit a forehand passing shot to secure the break. That bit of momentum was all they needed, as Paes easily closed out the set at 5-4 when Hingis hit a volley winner.
A lone break of serve also decided the second set, as Mattek-Sands hit two straight winners to break Hingis's serve as the Americans led 3-1. Hingis saved three set points on her serve at 2-5, but Querrey easily held in the next game to send the contest into a deciding super tiebreak.
The unseeded Americans were cruising as they created a 4-1 cushion when they won both points on Hingis's serve to grab the first mini-break. But Hingis and Paes took the mini break back on Mattek-Sands's serve at the next opportunity.
The crucial point of the match came at 7-7, when Paes blocked Querrey's serve for a clean passing-shot winner. He then won both points on his serve to close out the match, hitting an overhead winner on their first match point and then lifting Hingis in celebration.
