New York, Aug 31 (IANS) India’s Sania Mirza cruised to the second round of the women’s singles while Somdev Devvarman crashed out in the opening round of the US Open tennis men’s singles event.
Sania, ranked 160, beat Portugal’s Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 17 minutes here Monday. She next plays 20th-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Somdev, who at 99th place gained direct entry to a Grand Slam event, was knocked out by his former doubles partner and South African Davis Cupper Kevin Anderson 3-6, 4-6, 3-6. The India No.1 reached the second round here last year.
Sania says her three straight wins in qualifying round and over De Brito have given her a lot of confidence. This was the first time since 2005 that Sania played a qualifying event for a Grand Slam main draw, after her rankings plummetted on being sidelined by a chronic wrist and indifferent form.
‘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, once ranked 27th in world.
‘I love playing here on the hardcourts in New York and always seem to do well here.’
Sania’s best performance here came in 2005 when she reached the fourth round.
