The Hindu : Sport : Sania overcomes Savchuk

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Sania overcomes Savchuk

Sharapova breezes past Cohen-Aloro

New Delhi: Sania Mirza made it to the third round of the elite $2,100,000 Pacific Life Open defeating Ukrainian Olga Savchuk in a tough three-setter.

Sania, ranked 32 in the world, lost the first set but recovered in time to record a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over her 96th-ranked opponent at Indian Wells, California, in the United States.

The Hyderabad girl, who is seeded 21 in the Tier I event, received a bye in the first round.

In other matches, defending champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia and fourth-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova breezed through their opening matches in the second round on Friday.

Hantuchova swept past American wildcard Angela Haynes 6-1, 6-2 in windy conditions at the Indian Well Tennis Garden before Sharapova crushed French qualifier Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1, 6-0.

The 24-year-old Hantuchova, who won the tournament for a second time by beating Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in last year’s final, broke three times in each set to seal victory in just over an hour.

Sharapova, who won her third Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, broke Cohen-Aloro twice in the first set and three times in the second to wrap up the match in 58 minutes.

Isner downs Bolelli

American wildcard John Isner unleashed 16 aces to edge past Italian Simone Bolelli 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) in the men’s first round on Friday.

The 6-foot-9 Isner, making his debut in the opening Masters Series event of the year, clinched the tiebreak 7-2 in the final set to secure victory in just under two-and-a-half hours.

In other first round matches, Austria’s Juergen Melzer beat former World No. 1 Marat Safin of Russia 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2 and Chile’s Nicolas Massu battled past Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).

Paes-Hanley advance

In the doubles, Leander Paes and his Australian partner Paul Hanley, seeded eight in the draw, defeated the Spanish duo of Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.

The results:

Men: First round: Men: Nicolas Mahut bt Evgeny Korolev 3-6, 6-2, 6-2; Mario Ancic bt Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2; Marin Cilic bt Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-4; Mardy Fish bt Florian Mayer 7-5, 6-4; Guillermo Garcia-Lopez bt Sergio Roitman 6-1, 6-4; Tommy Haas bt Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-0, 6-2; Gilles Simon bt Carlos Berlocq 6-2, 6-3; Sam Querrey bt Luis Horna 7-6(5), 6-3; Thomas Johansson bt Lu Yen-hsun 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4; Max Mirnyi bt Jose Acasuso 7-5, 7-5; John Isner bt Simone Bolelli 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2); Ernest Gulbis bt Oscar Hernandez 6-2, 6-1; Juergen Melzer bt Marat Safin 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-2; Rik De Voest bt Michael Berrer 7-6(4), 7-5; Nicolas Massu bt Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4); Victor Hanescu bt Albert Montanes 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

First round: Doubles: Leander Paes & Paul Hanley bt Rafael Nadal & David Ferrer 6-3, 6-4.

Singles: Women: Second round: Aiko Nakamura bt Yan Zi 6-2, 0-6, 6-4; Svetlana Kuznetsova bt Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-1; Sania Mirza bt Olga Savchuk 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Caroline Wozniacki bt Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-0; Maria Sharapova bt Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1, 6-0; Amelie Mauresmo bt Edina Gallovits 6-2, 6-4; Zheng Jie bt Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-4; Shahar Peer bt Akgul Amanmuradova 6-1, 6-4; Eleni Daniilidou bt Klara Zakopalova 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-2; Daniela Hantuchova bt Angela Haynes 6-1, 6-2; Agnieszka Radwanska bt Mariya Koryttseva 6-1, 7-6(3); Dinara Safina bt Jill Craybas 7-6(3), 7-5; Dominika Cibulkova bt Sofia Arvidsson 7-5, 6-4; Alona Bondarenko bt Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 7-6(2); Peng Shuai bt Karin Knapp 6-1, 6-3. — Agencies

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