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In a rollercoaster of a match, Sania Mirza defeated Belarusian Olga Govortsova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a painstaking first round encounter at the US Open. It was by no means a satisfying victory for the Indian as her game was littered with that all too familiar foe which so often leads to her downfall - un forced errors.

Sania looked the better player of the two as she began well, breaking Govortsova in her second service game of the match. She then held her own, somewhat shaky serve, and was able to break again to go 4-1 up. Govortsova managed to break back in the 6th game but did not seem to get her serve right as Mirza took the next game. The 74th ranked Sania served for the set at 5-2, and after allowing Govortsova back into the game from a 40-0 advantage, she was finally able to hold her nerve and clinch the first set.

Sania was certainly not firing on all cylinders but she was able to take the first set fairly easy and looked on course for a straight sets victory. But, as all hapless supporters of the volatile Indian know, things are rarely that straightforward with the 22-year old. Govortsova broke Sania's first service game in the second set but the Indian was able to break back immediately. The set then remained on serve till 4-3 when Sania managed a string of unforced errors to hand her opponent the crucial eighth game and, eventually, the set.

The third set was tight as the games remained on serve while both players searched for an opening in the decider. It was Mirza who found it first as she broke the Belarusian in the sixth game, to go 4-2 up. But yet again, in this commanding position, Sania's composure seemed to desert her. Serving at advantage , Mirza double faulted and on the next point sent a straightforward smash wide over the baseline. She literally giftwrapped the game and put it in her opponent's lap on the following point, as she sent a forehand straight into the net. She did, however, manage to pull herself together in the end as she rallied back in the eighth game to break and, then, served out the match.

The Indian hopeful looked visibly relieved after the match, as did her fans, who were put through more than two hours of emotional ups and downs. Despite the win, Sania looked far from convincing in her first round and one could say she didn't really play well, it was just that her opponent played a whole lot worse. Mirza had a shoddy 33 unforced errors to her name but Govortsova managed to rack up an abysmal 44, which gave Mirza the advantage in the end.

10th seed Flavia Pennetta awaits Mirza in round 2 at Flushing Meadows and Sania will have to significantly up her game for that encounter if she is to have any chance of mounting a challenge against the in-form Italian, who has had a dream summer, becoming the first Italian to break into the top 10 on the WTA Tour.

To find out how fellow Indian Somdev Devvarman fared in his first round match click here.

Match Result

S Mirza (IND) d. O Govortsova (BLR) 6-2 3-6 6-3