Thursday, September 21, 2006

Mirza regales crowd to enter last eight

Indian star Sania Mirza kept in line for a semifinal clash with top seed Martina Hingis as she got past resolute German Sandra Kloesel in the WTA Kolkata Open here.

In a second-round match peppered with unforced errors and service breaks, Mirza prevailed 7-5, 6-3 to set up a quarterfinal with French teenager Aravane Rezai.

In the first set, in which she earned a warning for racket abuse, Mirza managed a crucial break in the 11th game and went on to dominate the match.

"The last five games were better than the ones I played earlier," said 19-year-old Mirza. "It doesn't make a difference whether you play ugly or pretty tennis. What matters is the win."

The second set saw Mirza concede a 3-1 lead but the Hyderabad girl bounced back in superb fashion to notch up service breaks in the fifth, seventh and ninth games to wrap up the match.

India's Sania Mirza after winning the second-round match at the Kolkata Open.(AFP/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)
India's Sania Mirza after winning the second-round match at the Kolkata Open.(AFP/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)

"I did not want to play a three-setter today. I wanted to get over with it as soon as possible. I made some technical mistakes in the first set but played better in the second," said Mirza.

Aware that fourth seed Rezai awaits her in the next round, fifth-seeded Mirza said: "Rezai is a very talented player. It will be a tough match."

Earlier, seventh seed Nicole Pratt joined the list of seeds to fall by the wayside when she was conquered by Russian Olga Poutchkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

Italian Alberta Brianti, who ousted third seed Yuliana Fedak in the first round, advanced after battling an injured ankle to overcome Indonesian Angelique Widjaja 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3.

Russian Alla Kudryavtseva and Uzbek Iroda Tulyaganova made the round of eight with straight-set wins.

No comments: