When Martina Hingis came out retirement for the second time in her career two years ago, she set some ground rules for herself. She would only play doubles, no singles. And she only wanted partners who would help her win trophies. It took a little time, but the 34-year-old Hingis is becoming a fixture in Grand Slam finals again.
The Swiss star and her partner leander Paes will play for the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open on Sunday against the team of Kristina Mladenovic of France and Daniel Nestor of Canada. It's the second straight Grand Slam final for Hingis — she played for the women's doubles title at the US Open with Flavia Pennetta, but they lost to the Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
She has more than a good chance to win with the 41-year-old Paes, a doubles specialist with 14 Grand Slam titles — all in doubles and mixed doubles. The two had played mixed doubles in World Team Tennis together and joked around last year about giving it a go at the majors. “Normally it's the guy who comes up and asks, but for somebody who talks a lot, I'm kind of shy.” Paes said.
Hingis only wishes it hadn't taken them so long to join forces. “I was saying even on the court, ‘Hey, we maybe should have played 10 years ago,’” she said with a laugh. For Paes, winning the title would give him yet another distinction in his long career: two major titles with Martinas. He captured the mixed doubles at the Australian Open in 2002 with Martina Navratilova. “The trophies, we have plenty in our showcase. One more would be lovely, but it really doesn't make much of a difference,” he said.