Mirza-Strycova breeze into US Open quarters

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Czech Republic partner Barbora Strycova stormed into the quarterfinals of the US Open with a straight sets victory in the women's doubles event here on Tuesday.

The seventh-seed Indo-Czech pair produced yet another dominating performance, registering a comprehensive 6-4, 7-5 victory over the American-Japanese pair of Nicole Gibbs and Nao Hibino in the third-round contest that lasted for more than an hour.

Mirza and Strycova were the first one to break, which saw them take an early 2-0 lead.

Although the American-Japanese pair found the momentum slightly late in the first set, it was not enough as the Indo-Czech duo went on to clinch the first set quite comfortably in 32 minutes.

In the second set, Gibbs and Hibino stepped up their game, with Mirza's forehand and Strycova's net play complemented well by their opponents.

With the win, Mirza and Strycova have now set up a clash against French top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic for a place in the semi-finals.

Having clinched three women's doubles Grand Slam titles with Slovakia's Martina Hingis, including last year's US Open, Mirza continued to display her fine start alongside her new partner Strycova.

Mirza now remains India's only representative at the fourth major of the season after compatriot Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski crashed out of the mixed doubles semifinals earlier on Monday.