Sania Mirza’s impressive run at her first tournament in more than a year ended in the semi-final as she bowed out of the Qatar Open along with her partner Andreja Klepac in Doha on Thursday.
Mirza and her Slovenian partner lost a hard-fought match 5-7, 6-2, 5-10 to America’s Nicole Melichar and Dutch player Demi Schuurs in one hour and 28 minutes. The American-Dutch duo are seeded second at the event.
Playing against players, who are ranked 11 and 12 in the world was tough but it was a good outing overall for Mirza, who recovered from Covid-19 recently, and her partner.
It was first tournament for the Indian since last February.
Mirza and Klepac split $10,000 and earned 185 ranking points each. Since Mirza was not defending many points, it will help her improve her ranking. she will break back into top-200 and is expected to climb to the 177th spot from the current 254, reported PTI.
Earlier in the tournament, Mirza-Klepac won 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-5 against Nadiia Kichenok and Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine in the opening round of the WTA 500 tournament.
It was Mirza’s first match in 12 months and incidentally it was at the Doha Open where she played last in February 2020 before pandemic halted the tennis competitions across the world.
(With PTI inputs)
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!