Sania gets tough draw, faces Jelena Jankovic in JP Morgan opener

New Delhi, Aug 7 (UNI) Sania Mirza was handed a tough draw and the Hyderabadi teen faces 16th seed Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the J P Morgan Chase Open in California.

Sania, currently ranked 44th, will have to pull off a surprise to get the better of the 29th ranked Serbian in the 600,000 dollar WTA Tier II event.

And in case Sania manages to tame her illustrious rival, she would face either Czech Lucie Safarova or Croatia's Jelena Kostanic in the second round.

Serena Williams have been awarded a wild card for the event and the local favourite meets 11th seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko in the first round.

Maria Sharapova has been seeded number one in the tournament, followed by Nadia Petrova, Elena Dementieva, Lindsay Davenport and Dinara Safina.

Meanwhile in the doubles, Sania, for the second successive tournament, teams up with South African Liezel Huber and the duo would take on Serbian Ana Ivanovic and Maria Kirilenko in the first round.

The Sania-Liezel pair had reached the quarterfinals in the Acura Classic where they went down to fourth seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Meghann Shaughnessy 2-6, 5-7.

Later today, Pete Sampras will take on compatriot Jim Courier in the Legends Exhibition.

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