Sania ousted from US Open singles

New York:

India's Sania Mirza saw her US Open campaign come to a dismal end on Wednesday when she was whitewashed 6-0, 6-0 by 10th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy in a second round tie.

The match lasted just 50 minutes and was one of the worst defeats of her career at a tournament where she achieved her big breakthrough with a run into the fifth round in 2005.

Pennetta was dominant in every category, committing just 10 unforced errors to Mirza's 28 and hitting 20 winners to her opponent's six.

The Indian was particularly errant on her normally reliable forehand side, spraying the ball long and wide.

"When you lose love and love there is not much you can say, but I felt I didn't play that badly," said Mirza.

"She played exceptionally well. Everything was working for her. There are days like that and you just have to move forward.

"I told her in the locker room afterwards that if she continues to play like that she will be number one in the world."

The 22-year-old from Hyderabad said that she still had the doubles and the mixed doubles to contest in New York and was confident she and Canadian partner Daniel Nestor could do well in the latter.

"After that I will play in Asia and just try to stay healthy for the rest of the year for once," she added.

Mirza won the Australian Open mixed doubles title at the start of the year, teaming with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi to become the first Indian pair to win any Grand Slam mixed doubles title.

The Italian, the first player from her country to break into the world top 10, underlined her outsider status and will go on to play Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada for a place in the fourth round.