Sania Mirza is happy to be back on the tennis circuit after missing quite a bit of the grass court season, much against her plan to to prepare well for Wimbledon and the Tokyo Games.
There is unfinished business in the Olympics, her fourth, after the ones in Beijing, London and Rio. She agonisingly missed a mixed doubles medal in Rio with Rohan Bopanna, after losing to Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in the semifinals despite winning the first set.
Devastating moment
“It was one of the most devastating moments of my life, to come that close to winning a medal,” Sania told the Olympic channel.
The 34-year-old Sania confirmed her Olympic berth by virtue of her injury protected rank of No. 9. She will compete in Tokyo in women’s doubles with Ankita Raina, ranked No. 95 in doubles. There is suspense yet on the men’s doubles entry of Bopanna and Divij Sharan, for possibly a mixed doubles entry in the 16-team draw in Tokyo.
“Ankita is hard working and sincere. She spent some time with me right before the Billie Jean King Cup,” said Sania. She had partnered Sunitha Rao, Rushmi Chakravarthi and Prarthana Thombare in the last three Olympics.
“I have never gone into the Olympics with a fellow female Indian player who is top-100 in the world. It is really good to play with someone who is on the tour on a regular basis. She has a long way to go, but at least, she is there,” said Sania.
Keen for matches
Having only played the Qatar and Dubai opens this year, before the current event in Eastbourne, Sania is keen to get some matches in Wimbledon.
Sania has been able to train well in recent weeks. “I have been doing a lot of on-court work. I have been training off-court as well. I have been doing a lot of explosive movements and agility work just to stay sharp and powerful,” she said.
