Francesca Schiavone ended Sania Mirza's campaign at US Open tennis championships on Thursday.
On a cool and breezy day at Flushing Meadows, the Italian, seeded No. 14, survived an error-laden second round match to beat the Indian ace 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, in two hours and 28 minutes, and set up a third round clash with Israel's Shahar Peer.
Though Schiavone took time to warm-up to Sania's game, she brought in her experience and all-court game, which eventually balanced her 33 unforced errors with 37 winners that handed her the contest.
Sania's 27 winners were undone by the 45 errors she committed.
Both players struggled to hold serve and there were 11 breaks in the match. Sania sent in only 48 per cent of the first serves while Schiavone was only marginally better at 51 per cent.
Sania started with a blaze of blistering groundstrokes as Schiavone tried to adjust to the Indian's power. The Italian barely held on to her first service game as Sania raced off to a 4-1 lead, breaking twice.
Sania served two successive double-faults in the fourth game and was 15-40 down, but bounced back to take the game and consolidate her first break.
At deuce in the next game, she got a lucky break as a disputed call went her way and gave her a 4-1 lead.
But Schiavone gradually clawed her way back, winning four games in a row as both players dished out a string of errors. Sania's serve and speed then let her down as Schiavone won back both the breaks and went 5-4 up.
Just when Sania looked like squandering the terrific start, she gathered her game and kept her second serve functional. With Schiavone shy of attacking her second serve, happy to get into the rally, Sania was able to stay in the set and then went on to overhaul her opponent to win the set 7-5 in 58 minutes.
But the Indian was unable to hold a single service game in the second set and folded under pressure from her opponent.
Schiavone, who reached the US Open quarter-finals in 2003, served four aces and approached the net with more confidence to unnerve the Indian teenager and win the second set 6-1 in 33 minutes.
After losing her opening service game of the third set, Sania let her opponent off the hook as she failed to capitalise on five break points to draw level in the next game. Schiavone hit two forehand winners to win the second game, which went up to deuce six times.
The Hyderabadi lass tried to blast her way out of the situation, but Schiavone survived the battle from the baseline. Though the Italian was stretched in each of the service games, Sania was unable to get the break and regain the advantage.
Like the second, Schiavone then cruised through the third set. Playing percentage tennis, she scored another break in the fifth game before proceeding to take the set and match at 6-2.
