Sania loses to Venus in second round

Sania Mirza's lucky run was cut short by Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the second round of the USD 585,000 Stanford Classic women's singles tournament in Stanford, USA.

Sania, who entered the tournament as lucky loser, crashed out 3-6, 2-6 against the second seeded American in front of the sellout crowd of 4353, in her second hardcourt tune-up for the US Open.

Williams, a two-time title winner here, will next play seventh seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who beat American Amy Frazier 6-0, 6-3, in the quarter-finals of the Tier II event.

After Sania lost on her service in the game two of the first set, Williams demonstrated her powerful serves and made no mistake in earning easy points against the 18-year-old.

Sania made too many mistakes to stay close against Williams. The American hit three straight aces in her first service game of the second set and broke Sania in the first fifth and seventh game.

"I had a lot of chances and I should have capitalised on them a bit more," said Sania, who is nursing a pulled stomach muscle.

"I think it was much closer than the score suggests. In the second set, I would hit a winner the first point and she would hit three aces. I guess that's why she won Wimbledon, because she plays better on the important points," she said.

Sania entered the draw as lucky loser after America's Chanda Rubin withdrew because of inflammation in her left ankle.