Sania bows out of Japan Open

TOKYO—India’s tennis sensation Sania Mirza’s brilliant run in the $170,000 AIG Japan Open Tennis Tournament came to an end in the semifinal on Saturday after she lost to France’s Tatian Golovin in straight sets. Sania’s fine form in the tournament eluded her against the third seed as she went down 2-6 4-6 in the tier III ATP-WTA tournament.
Tatiana set up a summit clash with Czech Republic’s Nicole Vaidisova who beat Russia’s Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-2. The Indian tennis star made a brave comeback from 5-0 down in the second set after being swept away in the first but unforced errors once again came back to haunt her. An off-colour Sania, who upset Vera Zovonerava of Russia in a thrilling three-setter on Friday, ran out of steam in the first set as the Frenchwoman breezed through the first set. Egged by the cheering crowd, Sania rallied from behind (5-0) to give a scare to her opponent in the second set. India’s teenage star Sania Mirza says she is satisfied with her effort at the Japan Open, despite a straight-sets loss to France’s Tatiana Golovin in the semi-finals. Trailing by a set and 0-5 in the second, Mirza fought off two match points to pull back to 4-5, but ran out of steam on her serve in the 10th game, falling to the French third seed, 6-2, 6-4.
“She (Golovin) was retrieving the balls so well. I started well, but then it got windy, and I think she adjusted to the conditions better than me. She was hitting winners and played a solid match,” said the 18-year-old Mirza. “I don’t think I played bad. When I had two match points against me, I played like I had nothing to lose. I just wanted to get a game, and then I saw an opening. “At 5-4, it could have gone either way, but then I made a couple of loose shots,” she added. Mirza capitalized on a triple break point for 2-5 when rain halted play for 25 minutes, and she took the following two games when the match resumed. But she went down 15-40 on her serve in the following game, finally surrendering the match after 68 minutes by hitting her forehand long. “It’s been a great week — semi-finals, singles and doubles. I hope to come back next year and do better,” said Mirza, who lost her doubles semi-final match with Shahar Peer of Israel on Friday. “It’s always good to have a crowd behind you. It certainly pumps you up. I’m sorry if I let them down, but I’ll be back and hope to do better,” Mirza said.—Agencies