Sania-Ram pair cruises into mixed doubles quarterfinals at Australian Open
Melbourne(PTI): India's Sania Mirza and her American partner Rajeev Ram advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals of the Australian Open with a straight set win over Ellen Perez and Matwe Middelkoop here on Sunday.
The unseeded Indo-American duo took one hour 27 minutes to dispatch Australian Perez and Dutch Middelkoop 7-6 (8/6),6-4 in the second round clash on Court 3.
Mirza and Ram will now face the winners of another second round, all Australian tie between Sam Stosur and Matthew Ebden and Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler, in the quarterfinals.
Mirza and Ram had got the better of Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic and Nikola Cacic in the first round.
Earlier this week, the six-time Grand Slam winner Mirza had been knocked out in the first round of the women's doubles event.
Mirza, who will retire after the 2022 season, is the only Indian remaining in fray in the season's first Grand Slam after Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Darija Jurak Schreiber made a first-round exit from the mixed doubles event on Saturday.
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Schools in Mizoram's nine districts closed due to rain
Aizawl (PTI): All schools in nine districts of Mizoram remained closed on Tuesday due to heavy rain that has been lashing the northeastern state since the day before, an official said.
School Education Director Angela Zothanpuii said administrations of nine districts, including Aizawl, Kolasib, Lunglei and Mamit, announced school closure on Tuesday as a precautionary measure for students' safety.
However, schools in the southern districts of Hnahthial and Lawngtlai remained open following a slight improvement in weather conditions there, she said.
According to the India Meteorological Department, Serchhip recorded the highest rainfall at 70.5 mm in a 24-hour period, followed by Hnahthial 55 mm, Siaha 37.5 mm, and Aizawl 36 mm.
Khawzawl district reported 30 mm of rainfall, Mamit 25.9 mm, Kolasib 25 mm, Lawngtlai 17.5 mm, and Lunglei 2.2 mm during the same period, it said.
The weather department has forecast light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning in Mizoram on Tuesday.
