Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina stormed into the second round of the Australian Open women's doubles with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-2 victory over Greece's Eleni Daniilidou and Alexandra Panova of Russia, in Melbourne, on Thursday.
The sixth seeded Indo-Russian pair outplayed their unseeded opponents and won in 50 minutes.
Sania-Vesnina won as many as 54 points against 26 by Daniilidou-Panova. They wrapped the opening set in just 19 minutes, converting three of the four break-points they earned.
In the second set, although Daniilidou and Panova put up resistance, the Indo-Russian pair proved too strong.
Sania-Vesnina meet Eva Birnerova of the Czech Republic and Italy's Alberta Brianti in the second round.
Both Sania and Vesnina will also be playing in the mixed doubles. The former will renew her Australian Open winning partnership with fellow-Indian Mahesh Bhupathi, while the latter will team up with another Indian, Leander Paes.
