Sania to partner Liezel Huber in Sunfeast Open

Sania Mirza, currently enjoying a career-high doubles ranking as World No. 28 would have top doubles player Liezel Huber from South Africa as her partner in the doubles event of the Sunfeast Open Tennis tournament to be held in Kolkata from September 18-24.

Sania and Huber would be chasing their third title together, having won the WTA Bangalore Open Tennis Tournament earlier this season and the Hyderabad Open in 2004, a media release from the organisers said today.

The pair had also made the final at Amelia Island this year before losing the title-clash to the Japanese-Slovenian pair of Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik.

Apart from Amelia Island, Sania has also been a finalist in the doubles at Istanbul and Cincinnati during the 2006 season.

The 20-year-old Huber has 14 WTA doubles title to her credit, including a Grand Slam at Wimbledon last year. Apart from the Bangalore win with Sania, she has also won at Strasbourg with Martina Navratilova in 2006.

The South African player is currently ranked World No 21 in doubles after sliding down the ladder from a a career-high ranking of 4 which she reached on July 4, 2005.

Meanwhile another talented Indian player Shikha Uberoi has been given a wild card in the singles event in the 175,000 USD tier III WTA event, the organisers have said.

Shikha had a good run in the event last year, upsetting eighth seed Rika Fujiwara of Japan before coming a cropper agaist eventual champion Anastasia Myskina in the quarters.