Australian Open: Sania in second round of qualifiers

By IANS,

Melbourne : India’s Sania Mirza moved into the second round of the Australia Open tennis women’s singles qualifiers here Friday.

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Sania, playing with a strapped left thigh, beat Iryna Kuryanovich of Belarus 6-4, 6-2.

The 24-year-old Indian, who has slipped to 145th rank, attacked Kuryanovich’s weak second serve to go up 5-3, and the Belarusian flung her racquet in frustration.

Sania dropped her next serve only to break back to go a set up.

Sania, then, raised her game to comfortably take the second set. She next plays Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko.

The Indian, once ranked 27, slipped out of top 100 for the first time in five years owing to a recurring wrist injury.