Sania rues lack of match practice after French Open exit

Paris:

Clay has never been Sania Mirza's favourite surface but the Indian blamed lack of match practice due to injury for her first round exit from the French Open on Tuesday.

The world number 95 Indian, who had an injury-plagued 2008 due to a recurring wrist problem, lost to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in a rain-hit first round match.

"I haven't had too much practice because I injured my wrist again after Madrid (Open) and had to get it treated at home. And clay is not one of my favourite surfaces to play on," said the Indian.

"It was tough conditions, going on and off the court, and it was also windy. But I take nothing away from her (Voskoboeva). She played really well, served really well and I think that was the difference," added Sania.

Sania, who became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title with her Australian Open mixed doubles success with Mahesh Bhupathi, was also disappointed for her fans.

"It's great support, because there's a lot of Indians supporting, but there's also a lot of pressure. They expect me to win every match I play, but I think I'm used to it now.

"The amount of people who came up to say congratulations - those are really small things, but they really mean a lot. A stranger walks up to you and says 'I'm so happy' because you won a tennis match. You bring smiles to people's faces," she added.