[In the decider, Sania again took the lead after breaking Mashona in the first game. But she surprisingly failed to put away at least two simple forehands, her strong points. Fortunately for Sania, Mashona was proving to be error-prone. After levelling the score 3-3, the American committed two double faults to hand Sania a 5-4 lead. Yet, the Hyderabadi had to stamp out a last minute challenge by Mashona who forced three break points. Sania finally clinched the issue when Mashona put a forehand wide. Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova became the first defending women's US Open champion to be eliminated in the first round since the beginning of the open era, falling to 20-year-old Russian compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova 6-3, 6-2. The fifth-seeded Kuznetsova's departure yesterday follows Anastasia's Myskina's first-round exit in the French Open in May to Maria Sanchez Lorenzo and is the fourth time a defending women's champion in a Grand Slam was ousted in her first match. Bychkova, a winner of three ITF developmental circuit tournaments, didn't get past the second round of the qualifying rounds at any of the Grand Slams earlier this year. Kuznetsova, who has won only one tournament since her US Open title last year, in Bali, Indonesia, the week after the Open, committed 45 unforced errors and was broken six times in the match.] I just didn't play my game, ... I wanted it badly. It wasn't my day. Things weren't going my way. I was ready, but I was not at my best.
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