Sania Mirza (ranked 87) kicked-off her campaign at Indian Wells tournament here yesterday in style with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Ukrainian Maria Koryttseva (ranked 96).

The Indian wild card dropped serve thrice in the opening set, but regrouped to win the tie in an hour and 29 minutes. The 22-year-old, a runner-up in Pattaya City, is playing in the desert for the third time. She reached the third round on her debut in 2006 (losing to Elena Dementieva), and went one round further in 2008 (losing to Daniela Hantuchova).

Mirza next faces 12th-seed Italian Flavia Pennetta, who also reached a tour-level final last month at Acapulco.