Final's hopes dashed, Sania-Bopanna to fight for bronze

Rio de Janeiro: Indian tennis stars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna squandered a one-set lead before losing the super-tiebreak to American pair of Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in the mixed doubles semifinals here at the Rio Olympics on Saturday.   Despite clinching the opening set convincingly, the Indian pair failed to counter the spirited fightback from Rajeev and Venus in the second set of a magnificent tennis match.   The American pair subsequently carried their new-found confidence into the tiebreaker and blew away the Indian duo 10-3 in the decisive set to eventually claim a 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 win over Sania and Rohan.   Sania and Bopanna will next play the loser of the match between Czech Republican pair of Radek Stepanek-Lucie Hradecka and American duo of Jack Sock-Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the bronze medal playoff on Sunday.