Fifth seeded Sania Mirza suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Michaella Krajicek of The Netherlands in the second round of US $200,000 Istanbul Cup tennis championship on Wednesday.
The Indian ace went down 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to the ninth-seeded Krajicek, who will now face either Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States or Anastasiya Yakimova of Bulgaria, who play later in the day, in the quarter-finals.
Sania, ranked 38, was playing her first tournament on the WTA circuit after a three-week rest.
Next up for Sania is the French Open Grand Slam, beginning on Sunday.