Sania enters second round in singles

Tennis sensation Sania Mirza Tuesday kept India's hopes alive in the third WTA Hyderabad Open here after Shikha Uberoi crashed out in the first round.

Playing before a home crowd, Hyderabad lass Sania thrashed Delia Sescioreanu of Romania 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the second round.

Sania, who created history by reaching the third round of the Australian Open, destroyed Delia, ranked 149, in the first set. She met stiff resistance in the second set but finally prevailed.

Ranked 131, Sania will clash with fourth seed Jie Zheng of China in the second round.

The 18-year-old's win lifted the spirits of fans after Shikha Uberoi became the second Indian to crash out in the first round.

Melinda Czink of Hungary won the keenly fought match 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. After putting up a tough fight in the first set, Shikha surrendered to Czink, ranked 128.

The 21-year old, who put up an impressive show at the Volvo Women's Open in Thailand recently by giving a scare to third-seed Conchita Martinez in the first round, had no answer to her opponent's powerful shots.

On the first day of the $140,000 tournament Monday, Ankita Bhambri, a wild card entrant, lost to Ukraine's Alyona Bondarenko.

Earlier, in the tournament's biggest upset, former world number four Jelena Dokic of Serbia crashed out. Cashing in on the injury of her rival, Italy's Mara Santangelo won the match 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.

Bad luck continued for the 21-year-old Serb, the winner of five WTA titles, as a thigh injury curtailed her movements on the court and finally led to her defeat. Though she tried to come back in the game after Santangelo took a 3-0 lead in the first set, it was not enough to stop the Italian.

Dokic, currently ranked 126, had pulled out of the recent Volvo Open in the second round due to her injury.

Last year's winner Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand advanced to the second round, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

In other matches, top seed Na Li of China and last year's finalist Maria Kirilenko of Russia advanced to the second round.

Na, the world number 56, defeated Marie-Gayanay Mikalian of Switzerland 6-3, 6-3 while Kirilenko beat Bahia Mouthassine of Morocco 6-3, 6-1.

Jarmila Gajdovosva (Slovakia) defeated Ting Li (China) 6-3, 6-2 and
Evie Dominikovic (Australia) defeated Shiho Hismatsu (Japan) 6-0, 6-3.


Indo-Asian News Service