Sania advances in doubles

Sania Mirza's determined comeback continued with her advancing to the second round of the doubles main draw at the $170,000 WTA Tour event in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday.

Sania, who lost in the singles qualifiers, paired with Slovakian Katarina Kachlikova to shock top seeded Australian duo Bryanne Stewart and Samantha Stosur 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the clay court outdoor event.

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Sania and Katarina had earlier come through two tough qualifying rounds, beating French Emile Banquet and Magda Mahalache of Romania 8-4, and Kim Grant of South Africa and Israel's Yevgenia Savransky 6-2, 7-6 (1).

This is the first tournament for the 18-year old Hyderabadi girl on her return from an eight-week injury lay off.

The first Indian to win a WTA Tour title has gained a direct entry into the French Open singles main draw beginning Monday in Paris.