WTA Washington Open: Sania Mirza falls at first hurdle

Indias seventh-seeded Sania Mirza suffered her sixth loss in seven matches, falling 7-5, 6-4 to Canadas Stephanie Dubois in her opening match at a $220,000 WTA hardcourt tournament.Mirza, battling a left knee injury suffered three weeks ago in a first-round Wimbledon exit, reached the Charleston quarter-finals in April as a qualifier but has won only once since and struggled again in a match that dragged past midnight to finish in the early hours of Tuesday.The 24-year-old walked onto the court only an hour before midnight after rain and lighting delays and battled for 95 minutes against a 117th-ranked rival she ousted in qualifying for this years Australian Open.Mirza, whose only WTA title came in 2005 on home soil in Hyderabad, was also worried about how her knee would make the transition to hardcourts in her first tune-up event for the US Open.Dubois advanced to a second-round match against Britains Heather Watson, who ousted Greeces Eleni Daniilidou 6-4, 6-1.British Womens No. 1 Elena Baltacha ousted Kazakhstans Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) to reach a second-round match against Frances Virginie Razzano, who eliminated Japanese wild card Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-2.