Melbourne: Indian tennis star Sania Mirza’s campaign at the Australian Open came to an abrupt end on Thursday after she retired mid-way into her women’s doubles first-round match with an injury.
Mirza and her Ukranian partner Nadiia Kichenok were trailing 0-1 in the second set against the Chinese pair of Xinyun Han and Lin Zhu when the Indian was forced to retire due to a calf injury. The Indo-Ukranian pair had lost the first set 2-6. Mirza, who had injured her leg during practice, went into the match with heavy strapping and didn’t look comfortable throughout the 33 minutes the match was played.
The 33-year-old had earlier pulled out of the mixed doubles event — where she was supposed to partner with compatriot Rohan Bopanna — following the same injury. IANS