Sania Mirza won her first title of the season, and 23rd of her career, when she and Bethanie Mattek-Sands shocked top-seeded Americans Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones in the final of the Apia International, in Sydney, on Friday.
The unseeded Indo-American combine won 6-3, 6-3 in just 69 minutes, as Sania sounded a warning for her rivals ahead of the Australian Open.
It was the fifth WTA title for Sania and Bethanie together.
Sania-Bethanie saved seven break chances in each set and broke five times -- twice in the opening set.
They dropped serve once but kept the advantage of an early break, which they got in the fourth game.
The Americans fought back well in the second set and were up 3-2 and 40-0 on Sania's serve, but the Indian came up with a big serve and fine ground strokes to thwart the danger.
Sania-Bethanie then broke in the next game to put the pressure back on their opponents.
The Indian ace had to pair with the American since her regular partner, Su-Wei Hsieh, was playing in the singles qualifiers at the Australian Open.
It is Sania's best performance at the event, surpassing a previous quarter-finals appearance.
She and Bethanie earned 470 ranking points each and split US $39,000 in prize-money.
Image: Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States and Sania Mirza of India pose with the trophy after victory in women's doubles against Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears of the United States at the Sydney International.
Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
