Sania-Elena shock second seeds Huber-Raymond

Sania Mirza and partner Elena Vesnina pulled off a big upset, ousting second seeds and strong contenders Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond from the Family Circle Cup with a straight-set victory.

The unseeded but in-form Indo-Russian pair beat the local favourites 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the US $721,000 WTA hardcourt tournament.

The Sania-Elena pair saved eight break chances, including five in the second set, when the Americans upped the intensity in a bid to stay in the match.

In the quarter-finals, they will take on the Russian-Australian combination of Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova.

In the singles, Sania is set to clash with German wildcard Sabine Lisicki, who shocked fourth seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-2, 6-3 in her seccond round match.