Another first round defeat for Sania

Sania Mirza made her second consecutive first round exit when she lost to Italian 15th seed Sara Errani in the the US $721,00 Mercury Insurance Open, a WTA Premier event, in Carlsbad, US, on Tuesday.

The unseeded Indian was beaten 2-6, 3-6 by the world No 36.

Sania, returning from a break, had lost in the first round of the Citi Open also, last week, though she did well in the doubles event, winning the title with new partner Yaroslova Shvedov of Kazakhstan.

In the ongoing tournament she has paired with regular partner Russia's Elena Vesnina.

Seeded fourth, they open their campaign against Elena Bovina of Russia and Jie Zheng of China.