Sports India

Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez and rising Indian star Sania Mirza the oldest and youngest players in the field advanced Monday to the second round of the Dubai Women’s Open.

Martinez, 32, defeated Shinobu Asagoe of Japan 6-3, 6-4. The 18-year-old Mirza beat Jelena Kostanic of Croatia 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-1 and will next face U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

“She is a great player, but everyone is beatable,” Mirza said.

Also, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia-Montenegro defeated Paola Suarez of Argentina 6-3, 6-1.

Martinez, who ended a five-year title drought in January by winning in Pattaya City, Thailand, raced ahead 5-1 in the first set and broke Asagoe in the fifth game of the second.

Mirza, who this month became the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour title, squandered a 4-1 lead in the first set and Kostanic went on to win the tiebreaker. Mirza then regrouped behind a strong forehand.

The ATP’s Dubai Open ended Sunday with top-ranked Roger Federer defeating Ivan Ljubicic.