Sania storms into second round in Pattaya

Pattaya, Thailand, Feb 5 (UNI) Sania Mirza shrugged off initial rustiness to beat Columbian Catalina Castano 7-6(1), 6-0 in the first round of the 170,000 dollar Pattaya Open tennis tournament here today.

Fifth seed Sania, who slipped one rung to 49th in the latest WTA rankings, was not in her elements best in the first set as she was taken to tie-breaker by the world number 64 rival.

But, the 20-year-old Indian pushed her game to a notch higher in the second set to blank the Colombian 6-0 and wrapped up the match.

Sania will now meet either world number 83rd Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese Taipei or local challenger Tamarine Tanasugarn (85th) in the second round.

UNI