Hyderabad: The Indian opening in the $140,000 WTA Championship wasn’t good as Isha Lakhani went down fighting 3-6, 6-4, 2-6 to fifth seed Jelena Kostanic of Croatia in a first round match on Monday.

Isha started the match on a high, breaking the Croat in the fifth game, but failed to keep it up as her opponent bounced back with some fine shots.

The fifth seed dominated the decider from the beginning as Isha committed too many unforced errors. Jelena, with some slashing serves, took the set and the match. Sania Mirza will play her first round match on Tuesday. Ankita Bhambri beat Indonesian Prakusy Wynne 7-5, 6-0 to qualify for the main draw. (PTI)