Unseeded Sania Mirza [Images] will be up against fifth seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the first round of the USD 175,000 Cincinnati Open WTA tennis event starting at Ohio, USA, on Monday.

Sania, who slipped two places in rankings to be 40th after last week's Wimbledon, will try to consolidate her position before next month's US Open.

However, it would be a tough ask for the Indian here in the presence of top seed Patty Schnyder, second seed and former US Open champion Anastasia Myskina [Images], Venus Williams [Images] and Daniela Hantuchova [Images].

Meanwhile, Shikha Uberoi will be tested by Abigall Spears of USA in the second round of the qualifying tournament for the event.

Shikha, who is representing India, was given a bye in the first round while Spears advanced after fighting it out 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-0 with compatriot Lauren Imre for a place in the main draw of the Tier III tournament.

However, Shikha's sister Neha's hopes of qualifying for the only WTA event in the midwest region were dashed as she was defeated by another American Carly Gullickson 6-2, 6-2.

Another contender of Indian origin, Shilpa Joshi, also playing under the USA flag, lost to Salome Devidze 1-6, 1-6.

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