Playing in her last Grand Slam tournament, India's ace tennis player Sania Mirza started her Australian Open campaign with a women's doubles first-round win, partnering with Kazakhstan's Anna Danilina here on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Indo-Kazakh pair defeated Ukrainian-Belgian pair Anhelina Kalinina and Alison Van Uytvanck 6-2, 7-5. Sania and Anna will face the Ukrainian-Belgian duo of Anhelina Kalinina and Alison Van Uytvanck in the second round on Friday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The former world No. 1 women's doubles player had earlier this month announced that she will retire from professional tennis at Dubai Tennis Championships, a WTA 1000 event, which begins on February 19.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sania has six major titles -- three in doubles and three in mixed doubles -- with her maiden triumph coming in 2009 when she partnered Mahesh Bhupathi to clinch the Australian Open mixed doubles title.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In 2015, she paired up with Swiss legend Martina Hingis, with whom she won three back-to-back Grand Slam doubles titles and the duo's first Grand Slam success came at Wimbledon the same year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Meanwhile, Competing in their first Grand Slam together as a pair, the Indian men's doubles wildcards Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni lost to 14th seeds John Peers of Australia and Andrea Mies of Germany 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 3-6.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Another men's pair Ramkumar Ramanathan and his Mexican partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela suffered a 6-3, 5-7, 3-6 loss at the hands of Greek pair Stefanos Tsitsipas and his brother Petros.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Meanwhile, Competing in their first Grand Slam together as a pair, the Indian men's doubles wildcards Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni lost to 14th seeds John Peers of Australia and Andrea Mies of Germany 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 3-6.<\/p>\r\n\r\n