HOBART: Indian tennis player Sania Mirza has won her first doubles match since returning to the WTA Tour following the birth of her son.

Sania and Nadiia Kichenok beat Oksana Kalashnikova and Miyu Kato 2-6, 7-6 (3), 10-3 on Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals at the Hobart International.

The unseeded duo will face American pair Christina McHale and Vania King in the next round.

The 33-year-old Sania is playing at her first tournament since the China Open in October 2017 and is using a protected ranking. She plans to play at the Australian Open starting on Monday. Indian media has reported she will play mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna.

It will be Sania’s first Grand Slam tournament since she and Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik had a son, Izhaan, in October 2018.

In singles play, top-seeded Elise Mertens beat Christina McHale 6-1, 6-1 and Garbine Muguruza defeated Wang Yafan 6-1, 7-5.

Also, fourth-seeded Zhang Shuai beat Kirsten Flipkens 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, Lizette Cabrera defeated eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, Catherine Bellis beat Marie Bouzkova 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and Alize Cornet overwhelmed Alison Van Uytvanck 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2020