Sania Mirza Sania Mirza and her American doubles partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered first-round exit at the Abu Dhabi Open WTA 500 tennis tournament.
Sania and Bethanie lost to Belgian-German pair Kirsten Flipkens and Laura Siegemund by a 3-6, 4-6 scoreline in the opening round of the women’s doubles event.
Playing on the hard courts of the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre, Sania Mirza and Mattek-Sands were dealt an early blow as they lost their serve in the second game of the opening set. The Indo-American duo, however, struck back to break Flipkens and Siegemund’s serve in the very next game.
However, eventually it was the European team who took the lead after breaking Sania and Sands again in the sixth game and pressing on to win the opening set.
The second set saw a bitter fight for supremacy with both teams going toe-to-toe.
Serving for the match in the 10th game, Kirsten Flipkens and Laura Siegemund held their nerves to wrap up the match in just over an hour.
The loss brings six-time Grand Slam winner Sania Mirza one step closer to her retirement. The Indian tennis star has announced she will retire from the sport after the Dubai Tennis Championships, which starts on February 27.
Last month, Sania wrapped up her glittering Grand slam career in Australian Open as mixed doubles runner-up. The Indian ace and partner Rohan Bopanna suffered a 7-6(2), 6-2 loss at the hands of the all-Brazilian pair, Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos.
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