Sania loses in singles comeback

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Last updated on: May 15, 2007 23:08 IST

Top seed Sania Mirza was ousted in the first round of the $145,000 Moroccan Grand Prix clay-court tennis tournament on Tuesday.

The Indian ace was beaten by qualifier Ma Emilia Salerni of Argentina 6-2, 7-5.

Earlier, Sania put aside her three-month long injury lay-off to win her first round doubles match.

She and Vania King of the United States came back 4-7 in the super tie-break to win 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 against Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Olga Savchuk of Ukraine.

It was the 20-year-old's first competitive match in nearly three months as she was out of action due to a ligament injury.

"It's always good to win a match when you're coming back after so long, especially a close one," Sania said.

Sania, who played with Liezel Huber of South Africa most of last season, said she combined well with Vania.

"I think it's a good thing we got the toughest unseeded team first. We played well together for our very first time as a team.

"There were a few hiccups, but at the end of the day it's good to come through."

Sania said her knee "was holding up very well".

The Hyderabadi girl said she felt a mix of excitement and nerves in her first match after a long break.

"While I was playing today, I was thinking about how much I've missed the feeling of competing," she said.

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