Sania Mirza upset the seventh seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany in the first round of the USD 170,000 WTA Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open tennis in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
The Indian teenager continued her fantastic run in 2005 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the German, ranked 36th on the WTA list.
Sania will face Kristiana Brandi of Puerto Rico in the second round of the Tier III event. Brandi, ranked 68th, beat American wild card entrant Jessica Kirkland 6-3, 6-1.
Sania will play her doubles first round on Wednesday, partnering Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine.
Top seed Patty Schnyder defeated 15-year-old Dannish wild card Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 6-0 while No.4 Daniela Hantuchova enjoyed a comfortable win aginst Lilia Osterloh, 6-1, 6-2.
Third seed Jelena Jankovic needed three sets in order to advance against qualifier Maria Emilia Salerni, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Meanwhile, No.2 seed and last year's runner-up, Vera Zvonareva defeated Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-3, 6-3.
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