The Hindu : Sania on the right track

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 25, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Sania on the right track

By Kamesh Srinivasan

Sania Mirza ... a highly-rated junior making waves in senior section too.

NEW DELHI APRIL 24. She is one of the best juniors in the world. The 16-year-old Sania Mirza showed why, as she won three singles matches in the senior league, dropping seven games in all, in the Asia-Oceania group `II' Fed Cup tennis tournament in Tokyo.

"It was very nice. I played the first singles and played alright. Enrico Piperno is a great coach and it was a good experience playing Fed Cup", said Sania, on return from Japan here on Thursday.

Sania played the No. 2 spot and put the team ahead in every match with ease while it was left to the No.1 Manisha Malhotra, ranked 314 to perspire and clinch the issue in the second singles.

While Manisha stayed back in Japan to play in the women's circuit for a further fortnight, the rest of the team took the flight home after finishing engagements with a 3-0 record on the third day of the competition itself.

Having broken into the Top 10 this week in the world junior singles ranking with a collection of 540 points, Sania had the credentials to challenge the better teams than bulldoze the less-resourceful ones like Philippines, Kyrgyzstan and Pacific Oceania, which she did as if a matter of routine in Group `II'.

"I was happy to compete since it was my first Fed Cup, after the junior Fed Cup last time. It is much more fun to compete in the team events like the Asian Games and the Fed Cup as the whole team backs you. We have qualified for Group `I' and it should be interesting next year", said Sania, after a stint of practice at the DLTA Complex.

Of course, it was a happy experience for Sania to be ranked No.10 in singles and No.14 in doubles, in the intensely competitive world of junior tennis.

"It feels very good to be No.10 in the world. It has been great training with Mr. C.G.K. Bhupathi, Vasudeva Reddy and Narendranath. I need to train harder to move further up. With two Grand Slams coming up, I hope to be in the top-5 soon", said Sania, who does have a realistic chance of moving up into the top-5 bracket.

At the moment, Michaela Krajicek of the Netherlands, sister of former Wimbledon champion, Richard Krajicek is placed No.5 with a points tally of 700. And that is not a big gap to bridge for Sania, growing in stature every day.

The world No.1, the 16-year-old Vera Douchevina of Russia has 1180 points. Such a tally of points does however, not intimidate Sania.

"I will try and reach the No.1 spot some day. I have time on my side, and I hope to achieve that status", said Sania.

Actually, Sania had not planned to compete in the juniors circuit much, but her high ranking has attracted her to play more in the junior circuit, and not just restrict herself to the Grand Slams, to push the ranking up.

"I will be playing the Astrid Bowl in Belgium before the French Open, and the Roehampton event before Wimbledon. There are two more weeks during that stretch, and it has not been decided as yet whether I should play 25,000 dollar events or just train on grass", said Sania, quite adept at handling the demands of the junior and senior circuits.

With five singles titles at the $10,000 level, four of them abroad, Sania has a ranking of 425 on the WTA Tour.

She has been developing fast, but Sania will have the unenviable task of tuning her patience on the clay circuit in Europe soon, for which she intends to train for three weeks back home in Hyderabad and in Bangalore.

"I like grass as it plays fast. Honestly, clay is not my kind of surface. It requires a lot of patience, which I think I don't have. The Europeans are good on clay and are physically tough. But it will be a challenge for me to try and do well on clay", said Sania.

The season has been quite encouraging for Sania who got to play in the big league in the WTA events in Hyderabad and Doha, when she partnered the likes of Mary Pierce and gained considerably by training with the French star.

In such a hectic schedule, there was also an unscheduled experience, as Sania was kept in quarantine for a few days on her return from Nigeria where she had won two singles titles and a doubles title in the $10,000 tournaments. She had failed to take the yellow-fever vaccination before her departure, and had no option but to have a forced rest in Mumbai.

"It was a good experience! We stayed in a nice guest house, which had everything including facilities for table tennis table. The only thing was that we were not allowed to cross the main gate", said Sania, about her experience in quarantine.

The spread of SARS in a few countries had forced Sania to skip a tournament in Vietnam and also avoid travelling through Hong Kong.

"It is a scare, but we did not have to worry much except wear the mask while passing through Bangkok. The situation is worse in Thailand now", said Sania, quite happy to be back home, after hopping across a few countries.

For sure, Sania Mirza is a highly rated junior, already making the big waves in the senior league, as she did in the Fed Cup in Japan.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport