Sania advances to 2nd round at Istanbul

Sania made a successful return to the courts with a facile first round win in the $200,000 WTA Tour event in Istanbul.

Sania Mirza made a successful return to the courts with a facile first round win in the $200,000 WTA Tour event in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday.

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Fifth seed Sania, who had been three weeks off the circuit to rest her troublesome lower back, packed off home wild card Ipek Senoglu 6-3 6-1 in the lead up event to the French Open Grand Slam.

Sania, whose ranking has slipped three places to 38 this week, is placed at the bottom of the top half of the draw which also features top seed and former French Open Champion Anastassia Myskina.

The 19-year old Hyderabadi next plays Michaela Krajicek in the next round.