NEW YORK:Sixth seeds Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi made a shock first-round exit from the mixed doubles event but Somdev Devvarman and his partner entered the men’s doubles second round with a straight-set win in the US Open.
Sania and Bhupathi lost 3-6, 6-7 (5) to the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak in a contest that lasted a little over an hour.
However, Somdev, who lost in the men’s singles opening round against Andy Murray, ensured that India didn’t go winless on day four of the season’s last Grand Slam. Somdev and his Filipino partner Treat Conrad Huey defeated Russians Igor Andreev and Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 6-4 to enter the men’s doubles second round.
The Indo-Filipino pair broke their rivals four times in the course of the match that lasted one hour and seven minutes.
Somdev and Huey will face 14th seeds Argentines Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank in their next match.
Meanwhile, World number one Caroline Wozniacki stayed on course toward a first Grand Slam title on Thursday as she reached the third round of the US Open with a straight-sets victory over 82nd-ranked Arantxa Rus.
Wozniacki, relishing her moment under the floodlights on Arthur Ashe Stadium, needed just 63 minutes to wrap up a 6-2, 6-0 victory over the Dutch player who had shocked Kim Clijsters to reach the third round at Roland Garros.
Despite a total of six breaks of serve in the opening set, Wozniacki never looked in danger of falling prey to a similar upset.
The 21-year-old Dane needed 40 minutes to pocket the first set. Then she got her serve firing and raced home to line up a clash with American Vania King for a place in the round of 16.
“I really enjoy playing out there on Arthur Ashe night sessions,” Wozniacki said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Wozniacki’s tennis isn’t the only thing that’s had her in the spotlight of late.
Her blossoming relationship with Northern Ireland’s US Open golf champion Rory McIlroy has been a hot topic on social media websites. “Tennis is my first priority and I’m focused on the tennis when I’m on court,” she said.
In another match, Roger Federer raced into the third round of the US Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Israeli Dudi Sela.
Federer didn’t face a break point in the 77-minute encounter, earning his fifth break of the match in penultimate game and serving it out without fuss.
“It’s always a huge advantage when you’re serving well,” Federer said. “I was really hitting my spots well today. It was actually quite breezy, that’s why I’m particularly happy about it.”
Federer next faces 27th-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic, who notched a comfortable 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 victory over 18-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic, the youngest player left in the men’s draw.
Irrepressible German Andrea Petkovic came back from a set and 3-0 down to defeat China’s Zheng Jie 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and reach the US Open third round on Thursday before celebrating with a new on-court dance.
The 10th-seeded German bent down to kiss her bandaged right knee when she secured her victory on the Grandstand Stadium, shook the hand of the shattered Zheng and then unveiled her latest celebratory jig, an on-court body-popping routine. “When I was 3-0 down, I was crying inside. But I said to myself: ‘Do I retire or start fighting?’ I decided to fight,” said Petkovic, who reached the fourth round at the US Open in 2010. (Agencies)