Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza makes a winning start at US Open championship on Monday by winning first round match against Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal. Mirza defeated De Brito in two straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 17 minutes match. She next aimed to take on 20th-seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia. Meanwhile, Somdev Devvarman, the only Indian ch... allenge in men's circuit went down to Kevin Anderson of South Africa in three sets 3-6, 4-6, 3-6 in the very first round of the US Open. Devvarman, seeded 99th had gained direct entry to the Grand Slam, while Sania had to go through three qualifying rounds to enter the Grand Slam. This is first time after 2005 that Sania had gone through qualifying rounds to make a Grand Slam because of the drop in her ranking. Sania, who once ranked 27th in world has gone down to 160th place on WTA charts currently as her game was affected by chronic wrist injury. However, winning four straight matches has given her the much needed confidence. "The fact that I am still capable of winning four matches in a row gives me a lot of confidence that I still have the ability", said Sania after first round match in US Open. "I love playing here on the hardcourts in New York and always seem to do well here", added Sania. Hard court is her favorite surface and she had made to the fourth round of US Open in 2005, which is also her best performance till date at the Grand Slams.Read More