Dubai: Sania Mirza squandered a one-set advantage to go down fighting to Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 in the second round of the $1,500,000 Dubai Open on Wednesday.

Sania, who pulled off a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina in the opening round, found her touch early in the second round match, sending down her trademark forehand volleys to unsettle the fourth seed.

But the Hyderabadi failed to maintain the momentum and allowed Jankovic to claw back into the match which was also made easier by some unforced errors by the 32nd-ranked Indian.

Jankovic tightened the screws and won the second set before fighting off a strong challenge from the Indian to advance into the next round of the WTA Tier II event.

Sixth-seed Anna Chakvetadze survived a strong challenge before winning 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 against fellow Russian Dinara Safina.

Amelie Mauresmo earned a victory to boost her fragile confidence by edging past Japan’s Akiko Morigami 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had a much easier passage into the last eight, taking under an hour to defeat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-1, 6-2.