By Jilawatan

It was a mixed bag for India on the opening day of the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. Sania Mirza scored a 77-minute 6-3, 6-2 win over Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal while Somdev Devvarman came up short against South African Kevin Anderson, falling 3-6, 4-6, 3-6 in a little over two hours.

Anderson, 6 ft 8 with a huge serve, took the Indian Davis Cupper out of the contest with his serving and offensive ground game that didn’t quite give Somdev a look in. Sania, on the other hand, used her run of matches in the qualifying competition to good effect to out the big-hitting 17-year-old, who had also come through the qualifying draw.

Sania said, “It is an unbelievable feeling to do well in a Slam. It feels great to have won four good matches on the trot despite being unseeded in the qualifying draw. This is very important for me. Britto is considered to be one of the emerging talents of the game and it feels good to have scored. Of course, the confidence level goes up with every win.”

Next up for the Indian in the second round on Wednesday is the 19-year-old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, seeded 20.

The 23-year-old Hyderabadi, who has been travelling with Canadian coach Rob Steckley during the American hardcourt swing, said, “The wrist has held up reasonably well so far. I’m feeling fine. Physically, I feel I’m at my best ever. I’ve accepted the fact that the wrist will never be as good as new again. The pain will need to be managed for the rest of my career.”

Sania, once ranked in the top-30 and presently down to 159 after spending four months on the sidelines with a wrist injury, played the bigger points better against De Britto on Monday. Even though Sania had fewer first serves that found the mark (56 per cent to her opponent’s 58) she won a greater number of points on her first serve (22 out of 31 points).

Read more: Sania scores; Somdev falls – Indian Challenges – US Open – Events & Tournaments – Sports – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/events-tournaments/us-open/indian-challenges/Sania-scores-Somdev-falls/articleshow/6471331.cms#ixzz0yYUZT7Vi