By IANS,
Hobart : India’s Sania Mirza crashed out of the $220,000 Hobart International tennis with a 4-6, 6-2, 3-6 first round loss to Australian wild card Alicia Molik here Monday.
The 28-year-old Molik, who is ranked 198, is returning to tennis this summer after retiring in 2007 due to persistent injury problems.
For 57th-ranked Sania, it is her second straight early exit from a tournament this year. She lost to Italy’s Flavia Pennetta in the second round at Auckland last week. The losses can dampen the 23-year-old Hyderabadi’s preparation for the Australian Open which begins next week.
Sania will now gear up for the doubles event, where she and Spain’s Virginia Ruano Pascual are seeded second. The two meet Romania’s Edina Gallovits and Marie-Eve Pelletier of Canada in the first round.