Sania loses in third round

Sania Mirza crashed out of the DSF Classic International women's tennis tournament after she was beaten by Meilen Tu of the US 6-2, 4-6, 6-7 (3-7) in the third round in Birmingham on Thursday.

Sania, ranked No 40 in the world, frittered away the advantage of being one set up and later lost steam when it mattered the most to end up as a loser in a tough battle which lasted for over two hours at the Edgbaston Priory Club.

The 14th seeded Indian won the first set without much trouble before conceding the second narrowly to the 119-ranked Tu.

In the decider, Sania had an upper hand twice as she was serving while leading 5-4 and 6-5. But each time she could not manage to hold her serve and allowed the match to go into the tie-break.

The American held her nerve in the tie-break and outplayed Sania 7-3 to advance to the quarter-final where she will meet Marion Bartoli of France.