Sania Mirza crashed out of the women's doubles after losing a thriller but Mahesh Bhupathi advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the US Open in New York.
Fourteenth seeds Sania and Francesca Schiavone of Italy made a smart recovery from a set down but failed to deliver at crucial points in the decider to lose 2-6, 6-1, 5-7 against the unseeded duo of Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Shahar Peer of Israel in a 125-minute second round match.
The opening set saw Dulko and Peer having the upper hand in service by firing three aces while Sania and Schiavone struggled with their serves as they dropped two of them to give away the first set 2-6 in 27 minutes.
The Indo-Italian pair staged a fine recovery in the second set as they tightened their service game and engaged their rivals in long rallies which they won most of the time.
Sania and Schiavone broke Dulko and Peer twice in the second set while giving them no chance to do the same.
Both the pairs reserved their best for the decider which lasted 68 minutes. Sania and Schiavone smashed three aces but they still failed to win the crucial points.
With most of the games being stretched to deuces, breaks points changed sides and Dulko and Peer converted more of them than their opponents. Dulko and Peer converted two of the nine break points, while Sania and Schiavone won one of the seven that came their way.
Sania, who could not advance beyond second round in singles, is still in the fray in mixed doubles. She and Canadian Daniel Nestor will take on American duo of Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott in the mixed doubles second round.
Meanwhile, top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and his American partner Leizel Huber scored a straight set victory over unseeded pair of Marcelo Melo of Brazil and American Vania King in the mixed doubles opening round.
The Indo-American duo made a sluggish start and were stretched a bit in the first set but the combo stamped their authority in the second set to win the match 7-5, 6-0 in 62 minutes.
Bhupathi and Huber were rusty in their first match of the Grand Slam event as they committed four double faults and nine unforced errors in the opening set. They, however, still hit more winners than their opponents to win the first set 7-5 in 44 minutes.
Having got a measure of their opponents, Bhupathi and Huber then showed no mercy and denied them even a single game in the second set which lasted just 22 minutes.
Bhupathi and Huber next play the American pair of Jill Craybas and Eric Butorac in the second round.
Second seeds Leander Paes and his partner Cara Black also moved into the mixed doubles second round, where they will play against Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Dusan Vemic of Serbia.
Photograph: Jay Mandal/On Assignment
