Qatar Open: Sania Mirza, Andreja Klepac crash out losing semi-final

Sania, who was competing in her first tournament in more than 12 months, marked her return to tennis with a credible semi-final finish in the showpiece event.

Doha: Indian tennis starlet Sania Mirza and her partner Andreja Klepac of Slovenia bowed out of the Qatar Total Open after suffering defeat in the semi-final on Thursday.

Sania, who was competing in her first tournament in more than 12 months, marked her return to tennis with a credible semi-final finish in the showpiece event.

Sania and her women's doubles partner Klepac went down 5-7, 6-2, 5-10 to second-seeded Nicole Melichar and Dutch player Demi Schuurs in a thrilling 3 set contest.

Earlier on Monday, Sania made a winning return to the WTA circuit as she along with Klepac defeated Ukranian's pair of Nadiia Kichenok and Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-4 6-7(5) 10-5 in the opening round of the showpiece event.

This match was Sania's first in 12 months' time and co-incidentally, this Qatar Open was the last tournament she played in 2020 when all competitions were put to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, Mirza had revealed that she contracted coronavirus at the beginning of this year.

She also revealed that staying away from her two-year-old child was the toughest thing she faced after testing positive for the virus. She also said that the virus is no joke and everyone should take every precaution possible.

Last year, Mirza brought home the country's first-ever Fed Cup Heart Award in Asia/Oceania category after getting more than 10,000 votes out of the total 16,985 votes cast for 2020's three regional Group I nominees.

Last year, her return to Fed Cup action for the first time since 2016 saw India book their place in the Fed Cup Play-offs.

Reflecting on the achievement, she had said she wants to dedicate the award to the entire country and pledged to donate the prize money to Telangana Chief Minister's Relief Fund to aid the fight against coronavirus.