Sania Mirza has it easy , To meet Jelena Jankovic in second round

BIRMINGHAM: Sania Mirza easily beat Claudine Schaul 6-2, 6-0 on Monday in the first round of the DFS Classic, a grass-court warm-up event for Wimbledon.

Sania, who this year became the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour title, served well on the marshy surface, and stunned Schaul.

In February, Sania won the Hyderabad Open in her homeland, and beat U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in Dubai a few weeks later. The results have placed unrealistic pressure on her from countrymen, sometimes to her discomfort.

"I know that every sentence I speak will be analysed, and everything that I do and every move that I make," Sania said. "The expectations and pressure are immense. Everyone now expects me to win and if I don't it's `How could you lose?'"

Mirza will next face Jelena Jankovic, who beat the Indian player in the quarterfinals at Dubai. Eleventh-seeded Virginie Razzano and 12th-seeded Evgenia Linetskaya also won on Monday. Razzano beat Carly Gullickson 6-4, 7-6(4) and Linetskaya topped Abigail Spears 6-2, 7-6(4).

Other winners included Stephanie Foretz, Anne Kremer, Mashona Washington and Anna Chakvetadze.

Meanwhile, in London, Xavier Malisse of Belgium scored a 6-2, 6-0 over South Korea's Hyung-taik Lee in the first round of the Stella Artois Championship. Also through to the second round were Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, England's Greg Rusedski and American Robby Ginepri.

The results:

At Queens: Stella Artois ATP Championships: First round: Xavier Malisse bt Hyung-taik Lee 6-2, 6-0; Victor Hanescu bt Scott Draper 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2; Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Jean-Rene Lisnard 7-6(2), 6-1; Robby Ginepri bt Lars Burgsmuller 6-2, 6-2; Davide Sanguinetti bt Bjorn Phau 6-2, 7-6(6); Greg Rusedski bt Joshua Goodall 6-3, 6-4; Gregory Carraz bt Sargis Sargsian 3-0 (retd.); Karol Beck bt Wayne Arthurs 7-5, 6-4; Davide Sanguinetti bt Bjorn Phau 6-2, 7-6(8).

At Halle: Gerry Weber ATP Open: Guillermo Canas bt Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-4; Jurgen Melzer bt Alberto Martin 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-6(3); Marat Safin bt Alexander Popp 6-3, 6-2; Olivier Rochus bt Cyril Saulnier 6-4, 6-4; Fernando Mayer bt Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-6(4), Fernando Lopez bt Kenneth Carlsen 7-6(3), 7-6(5), Olivier Rochus bt Cyril Saulnier 6-4, 6-4.

At Birmingham: DFS Classic WTA tournament: Sania Mirza bt Claudine Schaul 6-2, 6-0; Anne Kremer bt Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5, 6-2; Stephanie Foretz bt Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-4, 6-3; Virginie Razzano bt Carly Gullickson 6-4, 7-6(4); Anna Chakvetadze bt Maria Sanchez Lorenzo 6-4, 6-3; Mashona Washington bt Tatiana Panova 6-3, 6-3; Evgenia Linetskaya bt Abigail Spears 6-2, 7-6(4); Samantha Stosur bt Antonella Serra Zanetti 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2; Arantxa Parra Santonja bt Maria Elena Camerin 7-6 (6), 6-4.