Somdev, Sania sail through first round at United States Open

India's two tennis stars, Sania Mirza and Somdev Devvarman, did well on the first day of the US Open at Flushing Meadows, Queens, moving on to their respective second rounds in the tournament scheduled from Aug.31-Sept. 13.

Mirza, 22, went toe-to-toe with Olga Govortsova of Belarus Aug.31, beating the Belarusian in a tough match 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. While Mirza's first set was a breeze, she encountered tough resistance in the second, and the third saw an up-and-down route to her victory against the 20-year-old from Minsk. Mirza, who was nursing a wrist injury last year that kept her out of the 2008 US Open, will face Italian 10th seed Flavia Pennetta next.

Devvarman, 24, cruised into the second round in the men's singles after beating Portugal's Fredrico Gil 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets in his opening match the same day.

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Sania scares Venus in a three-setter

Second seed Venus Williams needed three sets to beat battling Sania Mirza 6 1 3-6 6-2 in the second round of the Family Circle Cup on April 15.

After dominating the opening set, Williams found herself in trouble in the second with the 100th-ranked Indian producing some great defense to save 10 out of 11 break points while breaking the American twice.

Williams finally took control of the match in the third set, dominating Mirza to finally move on after a battle lasting almost two hours.

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Mirza and Bhupathi win mixed doubles

Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a senior grand slam title when she teamed up with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi to win the Australian Open mixed doubles on February 1.

The two Indian wildcards rebounded from their loss in last year's Australian Open final to beat Nathalie Dechy of France and Israel's Andy Ram 6-3 6-1 at Melbourne Park.

"It's always a dream to win a grand slam.

That's what we all play for," Mirza said.

"It's just great. It makes it more special because it's with someone that I know for so long and so well."

Mirza, 22, had already achieved a series of firsts for Indian women tennis players, including the highest ranking of 18.

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Sania Mirza retires from singles with wrist injury

Sania Mirza retired with a wrist injury against Czech Iveta Benesova in the first round of the Olympic tennis event on August 11.

Mirza was trailing 6-2 2-1 when her right wrist became too painful.

"It was hurting before I even came to Beijing but it's the Olympics so you have to try and give it your best shot," Mirza told reporters clutching an ice pack.

Mirza, who recently had wrist surgery, said she may still try and play doubles with Sunitha Rao.

They were given a walkover into the second round when French pair Tatiana Golovin and Pauline Parmentier pulled out after an injury to Golovin.

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