Beijing: India’s Sania Mirza ended her 2012 season on Saturday on a disappointing note after she and her partner Nuria Llagostera Vives suffered a straight-set loss in the final of the China Open here.
The Indo-Spanish pair lost 5-7, 5-7 to Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in a match of one hour and 36 minutes.
Playing her fifth final of the season, Sania failed to cross the last hurdle once again as her opponents converted the chances that came their way.
India’s other hope, Leander Paes, meanwhile, along with partner Radek Stepanek, beat Daniele Bracciali and Frantisek Cermak in straight sets to storm into final of the Japan Open on Saturday.
The top seeded Indo-Czech pair defeated the Italian-Czech combination 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and three minutes.
The Japan Open saw a massive upset in the men’s singles event when defending champion Andy Murray was outplayed by Chennai Open winner Milos Raonic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4) in the semis.
Across the waters in China, there were no upsets in the men’s and women’s semifinals, with Novak Djokovic breezing past Florian Mayer 6-1, 6-4 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga getting past Feliciano Lopez, who had to retire from the match after being down 1-6, 1-4.
In the women’s semis, Maria Sharapova beat home favourite Li Na 6-4, 6-0, while Victoria Azarenka took care of Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-2 to set up a potentially thrilling encounter in Sunday’s final. (Agencies)
