Hobart: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza made a winning return to the WTA circuit by advancing to the women's doubles quarterfinals of the Hobart International Tournament with Ukrainian partner Nadia Kichenok, here on Tuesday. Returning to the court after two years, Sania and Kichenok prevailed 2-6 7-6 (3) 10-3 over Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Japan's Miyu Kato in a contest lasting one hour and 41 minutes.

The Indo-Ukrainian pair will next be up against Americans Vania King and Christina McHale. The US combination upstaged fourth-seeded Spainish duo of Georgina Garcia Perez and Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2 7-5 in a round of 16 clash. During her two years away from the game, the 33-year-old Sania battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. The Hyderabadi is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.