Sania Mirza [Images] will kick off her Australian Open [Images] campaign with a first round match against Marta Domachowska of Poland and might run into 10th seed Nadia Petrova [Images] if she clears the hurdle in the first Grand Slam of the year.
Ranked a lowly 107th after her long injury layoff, Sania would take on world number 61 Domachowska hoping to get past the player who beat her in their only previous meeting in a hard-court tournament back in 2003.
Provided she emerges winner this time, Sania is likely to face Petrova who kicks off her campaign against unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.
Against Petrova, Sania has a 1-1 record, having beaten the Russian in San Diego in 2005 even though Petrova settled scores at Wimbledon [Images] in 2007.
Sania's best show so far in the Australian Open has been reaching the third round in 2005 and 2008.
© Copyright 2009 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
|