The Hindu : Sport : Sania capable of handling anyone

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005

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Sport

Sania capable of handling anyone

By Vijay Parthasarathy

LEARNING FROM A LEGEND: Sania Mirza will hope to draw inspiration from the words and deeds of Martina Navratilova — one of the greatest tennis players of all time — when she steps out on court for her singles opening match in the Hyderabad Open international women's tennis tournament on Tuesday. — Photo: P. V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD, FEB. 7 . There's a distinct strut to Sania Mirza these days. That's not necessarily a bad thing; not if she continues to play the way she did in her doubles match on Monday. Sania looked super-confident — indeed, she seemed to gambol with the nonchalance of a kitten that has recently learnt of an extension on its nine lives. She was the same way at the post-match press conference.

Boy, does she know how to play up to the gallery.

When a slightly jumpy Sania finally managed to hold serve in the first set against Serena Williams in her third round Australian Open match last month, her lips nearly betrayed the obvious relief. She looked perhaps a little thrilled, even; albeit in a slightly guilty kind of way.

And when she began to find her range in the second set, it was our turn to be thrilled. Not bad at all, she can actually match Serena, we marvelled, and whooped wildly every time Sania passed her opponent almost impertinently down the flank. Serena's subsequent win over Lindsay Davenport in the final only served to confirm that Sania had not lost to a player on the decline; and, in a strange way, allowed Indians to take even greater pride in her achievement.

THE FACE OF INDIAN TENNIS: Sania Mirza is a picture of concentration as she follows the proceedings from the stands.

The experience has clearly helped; Sania now knows she's capable of handling practically anyone.

"Yes, Sania was initially nervous against Serena. Normally she's not but it's different playing against a top player, who's now ranked number two in the world, in front of a huge crowd in a foreign country," says Sania's father, Imran Mirza. The 18-year-old has now reached a career-high singles ranking of 132, and after the good start to this season, Sania will look to earn enough points to gain direct entry into the next couple of Slams.

"To do that, she'll need to break into the top-100. It will get harder now, because she needs around 130 points to bridge the gap," Imran says. "Next week, she's playing in Bogota where she has got a wildcard. Even a tournament win will fetch her only around 90 points, so it's obviously tough. But if she has a good run over the next three months, she'll definitely be able to make the main draw at the French.

"From then onward, who knows? She might not be able to make it to the top 50 by the end of the year but she's confident and there's nothing wrong in aiming high."

Weak second serve

Sania is not as powerfully built as some of the other players on the Tour, and she's got a particularly weak second serve. But she compensates for that with a good sense of timing, which allows her to crack winners from the baseline. She's got powerful groundstrokes, and an extraordinarily effective forehand. She needs to work harder on her movement though, and veteran coach Bob Brett reportedly pointed out serious flaws in her service technique. "I'm not sure if she can rectify the problem; it's difficult to unlearn what you have been doing for 10 years," Imran rues.

Indian doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi, whose company Globosport manages Sania, elaborates: "The elbow is low on the serves. There is definitely a technical flaw, but we don't want to change much, especially if she can get away with it. Elena Dementieva, for example, has a disaster of a serve but she's one of the fittest players around and has great groundstrokes.

"Sania should focus on agility because it will help her to put more balls back in play and she can create opportunities with her forehand. She'll train with Bob Brett in his academy at San Remo later this year. We'll try and fit three or four visits according to her schedule."

Sania had a foretaste of fame when she won the junior doubles event at Wimbledon in 2003; but what's happened now is something altogether different. Sudden popularity can often disorient an individual; it can easily make you lose your sense of perspective. And while she certainly played well in Melbourne, she must be conscious of the fact she has the potential to perform even better and cannot let the hype get to her.

Both, her father and Bhupathi are convinced that Sania has the maturity to deal with it, and that success hasn't gone to her head. "She is clear tennis remains her first priority," emphasises Bhupathi. "She will endorse products only if the company is flexible on the issue of number of days she will shoot, and if they understand our aims."

Imran says the idea is to limit her endorsement obligations to 25 days a year. "Our biggest concern is it could eat into her practice time, and we cannot afford to let that happen," he says. "But right now, I think, she's as good as anybody else. She's proved she's only a step behind Serena."

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