17 August,2009 02:41 PM IST | | PTI
India's Sania Mirza couldn't make it to the main draw of the high-profile $2 million women's tennis tournament, failing to clear the second and final qualifying round.
She was beaten by local girl Heidi El Tabakh, 1-6, 6-3, 4-6 on Sunday.
In a 56-player main draw, 44 were given direct entries, including the world's top 16 players.
Sania, who was 121 rungs above the Canadian in the world rankings at 74, had a tough time in the first qualifying round as well.
| Sania Mirza |
She struggled to win the first round against another Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier Saturday, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The Indian began the second round by losing the first set tamely. She regained her poise somewhat in the second, though she had problems holding her serve.
Despite being broken twice, she managed to make it a set-all, only because she could attack the Canadian's weak second serve. In the decider, she had ample opportunities to sail through but she could not clinch any of the five break points she forced whereas the local girl capitalised on the one break point she had to make her first WTA Tour event main draw after two hours of struggle.
Sania will play in the doubles with her new partner Francesca Schiavone of Italy and their first-round opponents are Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia.
