Sania Mirza

HYDERABAD: Tennis sensation Sania Mirza created history of sorts by becoming the first Indian-ever to defeat a former World No.1 player in tennis history. Sania (World No.59) achieved this unique feat when she scored a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 win against Martina Hingis, now ranked World No. 9, in the second round of the Korean Open in Seoul on Thursday.

For quite sometime, Sania had been sulking following criticism after a dismal showing in the big league. And when former World No.1 Martina Hingis beat her in the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, many critics felt it was the beginning of the end of her career graph, which was on the ascendancy till recently.

But the indefatigable Sania chose to silence her critics. "Papa, I have done it," was the first reaction from Sania when she shared her moment of triumph with her father Imran Mirza.

Once again, Sania has become the toast of the nation and the phone has not stopped ringing continuously. How things change quickly? Well, God is a great leveller, says a delighted Imran in a chat with The Hindu . "This is the biggest win of all," he says.

Sania's practice partner Narendranath is not surprised at this result. "Well, she always had the capability to pull off such results. This win should be a big morale-booster," he says. "Unbelievable. It shows Sania's mental strength after the embarrassing defeat in Sunfeast. It's another performance which should inspire the whole tennis fraternity in the country," says Ganesh Raman, one of her first coaches.

Fans elated

It's been great news for the fans too. "It is a terrific achievement and great news for Indian tennis," says Rambabu, a veteran tennis player. R. Niharika and R. Rishabh, the brother-sister combination at Ganesh Tennis Centre also echo similar feelings. "We love to see Sania's name in the headlines everyday," they say.

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