The Hindu : Sport : All eyes will be on Sania

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 19, 2005

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Sport

All eyes will be on Sania

S. Dinakar

JOY RIDE: Some Sunfeast Open participants were transported back in time with a ride on a buggy through the streets of Kolkata. — Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

KOLKATA: The focus will be on Sania Mirza at the Sunfeast Open. And the effervescent girl will be carrying with her the burden of expectations. An eager nation awaits a Hyderabad encore.

She is not the top seed at the $170,000 WTA tournament beginning here on Monday. Russia's Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva have been seeded above the 18-year-old Indian. Myskina is a Grand Slam winner too.

But then, Sania has a wonderful sense of occasion. She can buck the odds and raise her game. The Hyderabad star can also surprise and conquer her opponents.

Sania is nearing the end of what has been a gruelling year for her. It has also been a rewarding period for India's latest sporting sensation. She enjoys her tennis and it shows.

When 2004 ended she was 166 in the rankings. After her stunning run in the U.S. Open, she has climbed to No. 34. Sania's goal of breaking into the top-20 appears a realistic possibility.

So far, Sania's has been a remarkable achievement considering the previous highest ranked Indian women was Nirupama Vaidyanathan at 134. Beyond the hype, there is plenty of substance in Sania.

Stumbling block

A stumbling block for Sania here could be the niggling injuries she has had to grapple with this season. It also remains to be seen how she reacts to the security cordon around her after a reported fatwa by an Islamic fundamentalist group over her on-court dress.

If Sania shines bright in the arena, she radiates confidence off it. She should able to surmount the challenges.

How the indoor surface at the Netaji stadium plays could have a bearing on her progress. Sania likes fast courts and quick carpet surfaces. She is a heavy hitter who relishes the ball coming on to her swinging racquet.

Sania's is essentially a power game. In fact, she has one of the most destructive forehands in women's tennis. What she is striving for now is consistency, which is normally preceded by an improvement in every aspect of the game.

Serving was a problem area for Sania at the U.S. Open. She did not land enough first serves against Maria Sharapova and paid the price. Sania could get away with mediocre serving against the qualifier she meets in the first round here, but could run into trouble later on.

In an easier bottom half of the draw, Sania's real test arrives from the last eight stage onwards. Her face-off with Myskina is an intriguing prospect.

Sania's first round elimination in the Wismilak International tournament is an aberration. Probably she was drained out physically and emotionally after her exploits in the U.S. Open. Her singles record for the year of 28-17 is still a creditable one for someone in the early stages of the journey.

She would value the nearly $30,0000 she has earned from the Tour so far than the millions through endorsements that Sania's combination of good looks and tennis feats have fetched her.

Predictably, all eyes will be on Sania Mirza here.

Sports Reporter adds:

The main draw of the event saw an increased Indian representation as Ankita Bhambri and Rushmi Chakravarty won their respective qualifying matches here on Sunday. The main draw gets underway on Sunday. The other two qualifiers are Japan's Junri Namigata and Chinese Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang.

After Sania, the Uberoi sisters — Shikha and Neha — and Sunitha Rao, who got in direct after Germany's Merlene Weingartner pulled out, the number of Indians in the main draw has swelled to six.

In the final qualifying matches, Ankita outlasted compatriot Isha Lakhani while the former national grass-court champion, Rushmi, prevailed over Chin-Wei Chan of Chinese Taipei in straight sets.

Ankita's sister Sanaa Bhambri was not so fortunate as she was outclassed by Chinese Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang 1-6, 4-6. In another match, Japan's Junri Namigata defeated Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 in a match stretched to the decider.

Best match of the day

The first match of the day was the most interesting as Ankita was given a tough fight by Isha, who came back from the brink on every occasion the former took the lead. The two — close friends outside the court — produced their best attacking games as the fortune swung from one side to the other. Ankita won the first set comfortably 6-3 before Lakhani came back to level winning the second 6-4. The decider turned out to be a test of endurance in which Ankita proved better to wrap up the set 6-4.

In the main draw matches on Monday, Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Switzerland) plays Villmarie Castellvi (Puerto Rico), which will be followed by the match between India's Shikha Uberoi and Fuda Rayoko of Japan. Ankita Bhambri is scheduled to meet Kaia Kanepi of Estonia later in the evening.

The results (final qualifying): Ankita Bhambri (Ind) bt Isha Lakhani (Ind) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Rushmi Chakravarthi (Ind) bt Chin-Wei Chan (Tpe) 6-3, 7-5; Junri Namigata (Jpn) bt Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe) 6-7, 6-3, 6-4; Chia-Jung Chuang (Tpe) bt Sanaa Bhambri (Ind) 6-1, 6-4.

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