Sania crashes out of Japan Open

NEW DELHI: Second seed Sania Mirza crashed out of the $175,000 Japan Open in Tokyo after a straight set loss to Italian Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The Indian ace went down 4-6 4-6 to the eighth seeded Italian in her first tournament after recovering from a wrist injury.

Pennetta will now take on fifth seed Virgini Razzano of France in the semifinals.

Sania's doubles campaign in the WTA tier III event also came to an end after she and her American partner Christina Fusano gave a walkover to the second seeded Chinese pair of Tiantian Sun and Zi Yan in the quarterfinals.