Sania tamed by Venus after brave show

Melbourne:

Sania Mirza put up a spirited fight against eighth-seeded American Venus Williams before crashing out in the third round of the women's singles event of the Australian Open on Saturday.

Sania gave the former Wimbledon champion a run for her money before losing 7-6 (0) 6-4 in an intense battle which lasted over one-and-a-half hours.

In a gutsy performance, the 31-ranked Indian matched Venus shot for shot in the first set to drag it to a tie-breaker.

However, the tie-breaker proved to be a one-sided affair as Venus swept past the Indian to go one up.

The 21-year-old was mainly undone by the 30 unforced errors, which spiked her chances.

The Indian ace committed as many as 16 unforced errors in the second set which tilted the game in the favour of the American.

Besides, Venus served well never gave Sania a chance to break her in the second set as she wrapped up the match in style.

The American next takes on the winner of the match between Na Li of China and Marta Domachowska of Poland in the fourth round.