India's [ Images ] tennis sensation rallied superbly to upset world number 34 Jelena Kostanic of Croatia [ Images ] in the first round of the USD 585,000 Dubai [ Images ] Open Tennis tournament in Dubai on Monday.

The 18-year-old, one of the three wild card entrants in the competition, came back after losing the first set to beat the Croatian 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 in just over two hours.

Sania, who created history by becoming the first Indian to win a WTA tour title at her hometown Hyderabad last month, will now face US Open [ Images ] champions and fourth seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova [ Images ] of Russia [ Images ] in the second round.