Sania pairs with Molik, faces top seeds in first round of doubles

New Delhi, May 23: Sania Mirza and her team mate Alicia Molik were handed a tough draw that pits the Indo-Australian pair against top seeds Anna-Lena Groenfeld of Germany and her American partner Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round of the women's doubles event of the Istanbul Cup.

Sania kicks off her singles campaign in the Tier III 200,000 dollar event with her first round match against wild card entrant from Turkey Ipek Senoglu.

And a win will see her face Michaella Krajicek in the second round, according to information received here today.

Michaella, sister of former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, was leading 6-0, 4-0 in her first round match when her Russian opponent Irina Kotkina 6-0, 4-0 retired with a right elbow inflammation.

UNI