CNA and AP
October 27, 2014, 12:07 am TWN
TAIPEI/SINGAPORE -- Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei and her Chinese partner Peng Shuai were defeated in what is expected to be their last doubles match together, failing to defend their title in the last round of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in Singapore Sunday.
The pair lost to Sania Mirza of India and Cara Black of Zimbabwe 6-1, 6-0. The 59-minute game is the last outing for the cross-strait duo that starting their successful career together in 2009.
Hsieh and Peng advanced to the final after defeating Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia on Saturday.
The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore opened Oct. 17 with US$6.5 million in prize money up for grabs.
Hsieh said last week that she hoped for “a happy ending (in teaming up)” with her Chinese partner. The No. 2-seeded duo announced in August their decision to end their partnership next season.
They previously won the women's doubles titles at the 2013 Wimbledon, the 2013 WTA Tour Championships and the 2014 French Open, and both were ranked No. 1 in June this year.
Black-Mirza Win Doubles Title
In their last match together, Cara Black and Sania Mirza cruised to the doubles title at the WTA Finals with an authoritative 6-1, 6-0 win over defending champions Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei on Sunday.
For Black, it was the third time she had won the doubles crown at the WTA Finals after 2007 and 2008 partnering Liezl Huber, while for Mirza it was her first victory at the season-ending championships.
It was a surprisingly one-sided final, given Peng and Hsieh entered the match with a 12-0 record in doubles finals, including this year's French Open and Wimbledon in 2013, while Black and Mirza had a tough road to the final.
The Zimbabwe-India pairing saved one set point in their quarterfinal victory and staged a remarkable comeback in the semifinal against Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, coming from 9-6 down in the super tiebreak to win it, saving three match points.
“After we won that first match, we thought maybe that's a sign, maybe we're going to win it,” Mirza said.
The 35-year-old Black, who has won five doubles titles and five mixed doubles titles in Grand Slams, is unsure of whether she will continue on next year, so Mirza has agreed a partnership with Hsieh for the 2015 season.
“I'm not sure what I'm going to do next year, how much I'm going to play,” Black said. “I just want to wind down a little bit and see where the next step takes me.”
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