Sania out of doubles, Bhupathi in mixed doubles 2nd Rd

New York, Sep 5 (PTI) Sania Mirza crashed out of the
women's doubles event after losing a thriller but Mahesh
Bhupathi ensured the smooth sailing of Indians in mixed
doubles advancing to the second round of the US Open at the
Flushing Meadows here.

Fourteenth seeds Sania and Francesca Schiavone of Italy
made a smart recovery from a set down but failed to deliver at
crucial points in the decider to lose 2-6, 6-1, 5-7 against
the unseeded duo of Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Shahar Peer
of Israel in a 125-minute second round match.

The opening set saw Dulko and Peer having the upper hand
in service by firing three aces while Sania and Schiavone
struggled with their serves as they dropped two of them to
give away the first set 2-6 in 27 minutes.

The Indo-Italian pair staged a fine recovery in the
second set as they tightened their service game and engaged
their rivals in long rallies which they won most of the time.

Sania and Schiavone broke Dulko and Peer twice in the
second set while giving them no chance to do the same.

Both the pairs reserved their best for the decider which
lasted 68 minutes. Sania and Schiavone smashed three aces but
they still failed to win the crucial points.

With most of the games being stretched to deuces, breaks
points changed sides and Dulko and Peer converted more of them
than their Indo-American opponents. Dulko and Peer converted
two of the nine break points, while Sania and Schiavone won
one of the seven that came their way. MORE PTI