The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Sania beaten... , but not lost

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 22, 2005

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Sport - Tennis

Sania beaten... , but not lost

By Nirmal Shekar

MELBOURNE, JAN. 21. A flight into the realms of fantasy is almost always a flight into danger. For, when it is time to land, the process is seldom smooth in the capricious world of sport where heart-warming dreams and soul-shattering nightmares are two sides of the same coin.

In the event, it was remarkable that Sania Mirza, 18, piloted her fantasy craft adroitly enough to avoid a nerve-jangling crash landing in the Centenary Australian Open here on Friday. Instead, as she climbed an invisible ladder to match the former world champion and seventh seed, Serena Williams, in a memorably dramatic second set in their third round match at the packed Vodofone Arena before being beaten 6-1, 6-4 in 56 minutes, Mirza suggested that her vehicle of dreams — on which millions of Indians have enjoyed a joyride this week — may be in fine shape for another take-off soon.

Tennis on the big stage is a remorseless examination of character. And Mirza, making her Grand Slam debut as a pro and the first ever Indian woman to get this far, proved this afternoon that she has what it takes to match the unreasonable expectations back home at least halfway as her brilliant shotmaking skills elicited Ooohs and Aaahs from the audience.

After all the attention she has received here this week and, more importantly, after all the media hype in India — with, seemingly, an entire nation on a binge about its new, charismatic sports heroine — it would not have been a surprise if the fairytale had developed dark shadows in the heat of high-voltage competition on Friday.

But after looking like a sleepwalker in her own private haze at the start of a match with pop-myth possibilities, Sania, beating a gritty uphill path, stunned the former world champion with a destructive spurt of steep forehands and courageously staved off two matchpoints on serve in the ninth game before, inevitably, the American superstar closed out the match.

Good future

"I definitely see a very good future for her,'' said Serena. "She brought her game up in the second set after getting rid of her jitters. She is a very talented player.''

It's a talent that can only get better with exposure, although a lot is going to depend on how Mirza deals with her new celebrity. There is often a price to pay when you are catapulted to instant stardom.

But the young woman seems ready. "It is not going to be a distraction for me. Tennis is my No.1 priority and that is how it will be. Back home it may be a little more difficult to be a normal girl now but my goals are clear. I want to be in the Top 50 by the end of the year,'' said Mirza.

Perhaps the biggest gain for Mirza today was the confidence boost she received on finding out that she can stay on the court with someone like Serena and try and match her shot for shot. While it took a while for her to open her account on the scoreboard, Mirza played wonderfully entertaining and confident tennis right through the second set.

After holding serve with an ace in the third game of the second set, Mirza pushed the multiple Grand Slam champion to the wall in the next. But the Indian failed to covert the three breakpoints she had in that game and Serena broke to 4-3 with a winner off the tape.

But it was not over yet. Down 15-40 on serve in the ninth game, Mirza fought off two matchpoints with blistering forehand winners to hold to 4-5 before Serena closed out the match with an ace down the middle, her 12th in the match.

"In the second set it looked like I had what it took. I really enjoyed myself there,'' said Mirza, who had a lot of support from the crowd. "It is overwhelming to know that I can match Serena. I now know what I have to do. I have to get fitter and work hard. I was nervous in the first set but overall I am happy with the way I played,'' said the teenager who took home $ (Aus) 46,250.

It was a good gesture from Serena, in the end, to spend a little time at the net with Sania to say some encouraging words to the young woman. "I just told her, 'Keep up the good work. It is nice to see someone from India do so well," said Serena.

Right perspective

What began well has ended well too for the Hyderabad teenager, whose exploits here this week have been watched in India with the same mixture of fascination and awe that greeted the launch of the new Airbus 380 super-jumbo in France recently. And, like the big bird, Mirza has barely taken off!

Somewhere along the way we will find some perspective. But, right now, in a nation starved of sports heroes outside the rather small world of cricket, the real meaning and measure of Mirza's achievement may have been lost in a cacophony of lavish hype.

Hrbaty ousts Gaudio

They call him the Dominator. As nicknames go, that is about as illuminating as The Pigeon. In person, Dominik Hrbaty, a genial Slovakian with a toothy smile, is as far away from the image that his WWF-style nickname might throw up as Bratislava is from Melbourne.

The son of an architect, Hrbaty's sharp mind helps him dictate his own court geometry to befuddle opponents.

The Slovakian, playing in his 33rd consecutive Grand Slam, came into Melbourne after a triumphant week in Perth in the Hopman Cup mixed event.

And, today, the wiry fitness fanatic who plans to run in the New York marathon once he is done with tennis, outran, outhit and finally outwitted the French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, seeded 10, to win the third round match 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 in four hours and 21 minutes.

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