Martina Hingis marked her return to professional tennis by adding a 15th Grand Slam title to her record as she clinched the mixed doubles crown with Mahesh Bhupathi at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday. The former world number one, who made a comeback to the courts less than a month ago, teamed up with Indian doubles specialist, Bhutpathi to upset sixth seeds Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 6-3. "If anyone asks me why I came back, this is why - the dream of being back on court, of winning major titles," Hingis told BBC Sport after her victory. The title came as Hingis' first mixed doubles title while Bhutpathi collected five major mixed doubles trophies prior to the event. "I just wanted this one badly. My first mixed doubles title, it definitely exceeded my expectations," admitted Hingis. The 25-year-old Swiss star was also full of praise for her partner, Bhutpathi, who now has nine doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles of his own. "It's just been a pleasure," Hingis was quoted as saying by the WTA official website. "Thanks to Mahesh. Like I said on court, he had the courage to play with me. Thanks to other partners he had in the past, they didn't want to play.” “He's the man right now in mixed doubles and also in doubles, I think.” Bhutpathi, in return, was delighted to pair up with Hingis in the tournament. "We were definitely at a different level today," said Bhupathi. "That's because it's so easy to play with her…I know if they attack her, she's always ready. That makes life a lot easier on the mixed doubles court." Hingis also reached the quarterfinals in the singles event where she took Belgian ace, Kim Clijsters to three sets before exiting the tournament.
