Kirilenko stumbles at the wire

A Backhand crosscourt whizzed past Maria Kirilenko; she could just watch as it landed right inside the line.

A Backhand crosscourt whizzed past Maria Kirilenko; she could just watch as it landed right inside the line. Third set, a break down already, and the eighth seed was sinking further. She would never have imagined it would come to this. A first set lead, and three match points to wrap it up, but today was Zi Yan8217;s day.

So what, the Chinese seemed to say, as she battled through a second set tie-break with her unorthodox game, complete with a double handed forehand, absorbing the effect of two match points there, and strolled through the decider 3-6, 7-6 7, 6-1.

8220;In the first set, I could not catch the ball. In the second, I hit more spin and stayed in the point as long as I could. Maybe she was tired in the third set 8212; she missed a lot of balls,8221; said Yan.

Having been so close, yet not quite there, seemed to have taken a toll on the Russian8217;s mind, and this time, the Indian sojourn was not to end in a trophy for the 2007 Sunfeast Open champion. 8220;I was quite upset about the second set, and she played very well in the decider,8221; was Kirilenko8217;s verdict.

Whatever the analysis, it will be the unseeded Chinese player who progresses to round two to play Olga Savchuk of Ukraine, who defeated Britain8217;s Katie O-Brien 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

Zi Yan has largely concentrated on doubles till now, and enjoyed a fair amount of success, picking up the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2006. Now, though, ,she is playing more singles with an eye on the Beijing Games.

8220;This year the Olympics are in China, and with a view to that, I am playing more singles. Winning a Grand Slam is also important, but since this is the year of the Olympics, that is probably my priority for the year,8221; she added.

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There was no good news on the Indian side, though, as wild card Isha Lakhani won only four games in her 6-2, 6-2 loss to Romania8217;s Agnes Szatmari.

Seventh seed Vera Zvonareva fought off a tough challenge from Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. In another Russian-Chinese battle, this one ending with a Russian victory, Anastasia Rodionova defeated Tiantian Sun 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Williams stutter, but through

Their outfits were impeccable, as always. Their game, however, could have done with a bit more work. Venus and Serena Williams stuttered past Thailand8217;s Tamarine Tanasugarn and Andrea Ehritt-Vanc of Romania in straight sets, 7-6 5, 6-4, but it was a bumpy ride all the way.

Tamarine had to duck to avoid a Venus ace in the match8217;s opening point, but the encounter was certainly not one of a Williams domination. Serena, in particular, was error-prone, and the duo found themselves 3-0 down before the resurgence began.