Thursday, March 30, 2006

Sania-Ivanovic knocked out of Nasdaq Open

Miami: Sania Mirza and her Serbian partner Ana Ivanovic put up a fight in the first set but were blanked out in the second as they went down 5-7, 0-6 to eighth seeded Japanese-Slovakian pair of Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik in the quaterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open here.

Sania and Ivanovic tried to face up to their seeded opponents in the first set and they even managed to break them twice but Asagoe and Srebotnik held their own against an onslaught of aces -- six in all -- by the Indo-Serbian pair to take the set 5-7 after a 41-minute long battle.

But the WTA newcomer of the year and her Serbian partner ran out of steam in the second set and failed to win a single point. Asagoe and Srebotnik broke their wild card opponents thrice before storming through the set in 23 minutes.

They will now take on the seventh seeded pair of South African Liezel Huber and American Martina Navratilova in the semifinal.

The match was the Indian's last at the tournament after she was knocked out in the first round of the singles competition.

Sania, who has dropped to number 41 after finishing the last year at a career high 31st in the WTA rankings, has had an ordinary season so far with no singles title. She has failed to go beyond the third round of a singles competition in any tournment played so far.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Sania in doubles second round

Sania Mirza advanced to the second round in the women's doubles with a straight sets victory at the 3.45-million dollar Nasdaq 100 Open WTA Tour event in Miami, USA.

The 19-year old Indian, pairing with Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, defeated the Italian pair of Maria Elena Camerin and Tathiana Garbin 6-3, 6-4 in the first round on Sunday.

Sania and Ana next play Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Italy's Francesca Schiavone.

Sania to lead India in Fed Cup

Sania Mirza will lead India's campaign in the Fed Cup women's team tennis competition to be played in Seoul, Korea, next month.

Shikha Uberoi, Ankita Bhambri and Isha Lakhani are the other members of the team that will be captained by Enrico Piperno, All India Tennis Association said in a release today.

Hosts Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Philippines and Uzbekistan are the other teams in the fray in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 zonal qualification tie.

Sania was included in the team but did not play a match as she recovered from an ankle injury last year when the competition was held in Delhi.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Sania bows out of Nasdaq 100 Open

Sania Mirza put up a gallant fight before going down in the first round of the 3.45-million dollar Nadaq 100 Open WTA Tour event in Florida, USA.

Sania lost 7-6 (8/6) 1-6 7-6 (10/8) to Anna Tatashvili of Georgia in Key Biscayne on Thursday night.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Sania wins WTA Newcomer of the Year award

Sania Mirza poses with the Newcomer of the Year award at the Sony Ericsson WTA Awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 in Miami, Florida.

Sania Mirza continues to bask in the glory of her last year's performance and was announced the Newcomer of the Year by WTA for winning the Hyderabad Open and ending the year ranked a career best number


Sania, who has had a disappointing season so far this year, was honoured at the second annual joint ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Awards ceremony on Tuesday night, according to the WTA tour website.

The Hyderabadi was recently knocked out in the third round of the Pacific Life Open after failing to go beyond the second round of previous WTA events this year.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer and US Open Champion Kim Clijsters were named the 2005 Players of the Year and also won the Fans' Favourite Award. Federer's fellow players also voted him the Stefan Edberg Sportsman of the Year for the second straight year.

Clijsters, who rose to number 2 in the WTA rankings after a wrist injury sidelined her for most of 2004, picked up four awards in all. This included the Comeback Player of the Year by the media and the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship award.

Sixteen different players were honoured with 21 awards.

Comeback Player of the Year honours for the ATP went to James Blake, who lost out Roger Federer in the Pacific Life Open finals. He ended the previous year on a career best number 24 after missing the final six months of 2004 with a broken neck and then a bout with zoster.

Teenage Spaniard Rafael Nadal was adjudged the Most Improved Player after he captured a record 11 titles including four Masters Series shields and the Roland Garros crown.

Meanwhile, 2004's top junior Gael Monfils made a momentous climb of 200 spots up to a year-end number 31 in his first full year on the ATP circuit to earn the Newcomer of the Year honour.

Bob and Mike Bryan earned the ATP Doubles Team of the Year award and were also chosen as the overwhelming fan favourites.

Carlos Moya, who donated a check of $52,000 following his Chennai Open win, won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award for spearheading relief efforts following the tsunami in South Asia and calling on his fellow players to do their part.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Sania Mirza of India serves against fourth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia during the second round match of Pacific Life Tennis Open in Indian Wells,


Sania Mirza of India serves against fourth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia during the second round match of Pacific Life Tennis Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Monday, March 13, 2006

Sania climbs to 41st rank

Sania climbs to 41st rank
Mar 21 2006, 2:37PM GMT

Sania Mirza celebrates after winning the first set against Elena Dementieva during the second round match of Pacific Life Tennis Open

Sania Mirza has climbed to 41st rank in the latest Women's Tennis Association world rankings released on Monday.

With 516.75 ranking points, the Hyderabadi teenager has risen four places.

Sania, who reached a career best 31 in October 2005 had a poor start to the season with a third-round appearance at the Pacific Life Open being her best performance.
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Among her compatriots, US-based Shikha Uberoi has slipped to 178th rank.

Uberoi is followed by Ankita Bhambri who's ranked 360th and Rushmi Chakravarthi at 381.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Sania crashes out of Pacific Life Open

Indian Wells: Sania Mirza crashed out of the of the $2.1 million WTA Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells.

Sania lost to Russia's Elena Dementieva 7-5, 4-6, 4-6 in her third round singles match.

World number eight Dementieva looked a little rusty in the first set, but played some exciting tennis in the second and third set.

Though Sania had a high first serve percentage, but lost out on the points on first serve.

She also had a lower percentage on receiving points.

In total, she won 99 points as compared to Dementieva's 107.

Sania, who had slipped to 45 in world rankings last week, had earlier defeated local qualifier Bethanie Mattek 6-2 3-6 7-5 in the second round of the Tier I tournament to set up a clash against Dementieva.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Sania to pair up with Israel’s Peer again



INDIAN WELLS: India’s Sania Mirza is hoping to renew her doubles partnership with Israel’s Shahar Peer despite protests from some Muslim and Jewish groups. Mirza said she would have played with Peer at this week’s Pacific Life Open, but the Israeli player had already booked a partner.

“You shouldn’t mix up sports with anything else,’’ she said at the March 8-19 tournament in Indian Wells. “If I had to follow the stereotype of what a woman athlete should be in India, then I wouldn’t be playing tennis because there aren’t many girls who pick up rackets when they are six. If you believe it’s right, if your loved ones believe it’s right, then it’s right.’’
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Mirza and Peer united for the first time when they reached the quarter-finals of the event in Bangkok last October, but their partnership was met with anger by some religious groups. “We’re playing sports. We don’t think about politics,” Peer said, during Bangkok tournament.

Saina’s results in 2006 have been poor. “You should never be satisfied. People come up with that I’m the first Indian woman to accomplish blah, blah, blah, and that’s the hardest part for me. I would like to believe I’m tough enough to cope with all this pressure, but everyone has their moments.We’re not machines, we’re human. We have our breakdowns and feel lonely,” she said.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Sania slumps to 45th in WTA singles rankings

New Delhi, Mar 7 Three second round losses in recent past and one week's lay-off from competition pushed Sania Mirza nine places down to 45th in the latest WTA singles rankings.

With 489.75 panking points to her credit, Sania was the biggest loser among the top 50 players in the circuit with as many as eight lower-ranked players moving ahead of her this week in the rankings headed by Kim Clijsters of Belgium, according to information received here.

The 19-year-old Hyderabadi, however, maintained her previous week's 64th spot in doubles ranking.

Meanwhile, all other Indian women moved down the ladder except US-based Shikha Uberoi who jumped 11 places to move up to 149th, with Ankita Bhambri (363th), Rushmi Chakravarthi (373rd), Sanaa Bhambri (470th) and Shruti Dhawan (512th) failing to raise their rankings.

Top 10 rankings: 1. Kim Clijsters (Bel); 2. Amelie Mauresmo (Fra); 3. Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel); 4. Lindsay Davenport (USDA); 5. Maria Sharapova (Rus); 6. Mary Pierce (Fra); 7. Nadia Petrova (Rus); 8. Elena Dementieva (Rus); 9. Patty Schnyder (Sui); 10. Venus Williams (USA)

Monday, March 06, 2006

Sania: The rise and thereafter

Bikash Mohapatra, DNA India
MUMBAI: There has been much said and heard about Sania Mirza over the past 15 months. Her pioneering achievements last year, on court — almost whatever she did was a first for an Indian woman — and off it made news.

Not much has changed. Sania continues to be the cynosure of all eyes wherever she plays.

But, with 2006 not quite starting the way she would have liked, and in a world of instant stardom and equally prompt cynicism, a cloud of skepticism seems to now be hovering over her style of play. In some cases, even her future.

One year after : “Last year, it was a cakewalk for her. She’s at an altogether different level now,” says former coach CGK Bhupathi. “She’s currently wilting under pressure and the weight of her own expectations but this should be a temporary phase.”

It’s her second full year on the pro tour and Mirza is feeling the grind; she’s also picking up a lesson or two along the way. The first two months of 2006 have come and gone, and Sania is yet to progress beyond the second round of any of the five events she has participated in so far.

Compare this to the corresponding period last year and the concerns will seem valid. The fact that she is still hanging on to the 30s (in WTA rankings) has more to do with the results of other players than her own.

The skeptics notwithstanding, there is the voice of reason which says its too soon to judge. Former Davis Cupper Jaideep Mukherjee, for instance, believes the teething problems of early 2006 is no cause for concern.

“She’s playing well considering the fact that she’s under tremendous pressure,” says Mukherjee, the man instrumental in ensuring Sania a stint with Australian legend Tony Roche. “Her performance is not as good as last year but it is because she’s now getting into bigger tournaments, playing better players.”

Ganesh Raman, Sania’s coach during her formative years concurs. “What one needs to consider is whom she’s losing to now. Barring the Bangalore Open every player she has lost to is a big name,” he says.

The grey areas: The 19-year-old Indian plays a very aggressive game which, at times, can intimidate her opponents. But her game is often error prone, with the number of unforced errors increasing with every tournament she plays.

“She has the ability to be at a certain level, in the 30s. But she is still not good enough to be among the top-30,” feels former coach Bob Brett. “She’s into other activities which aren’t related to tennis but take away a lot of her practice time. Her forehand is natural and is definitely one of the biggest in women’s tennis, and she’s also quick with her feet. But it becomes difficult with her backhand, which isn’t as effective.”

Mukherjee believes Sania has a mental block going to the net and is also injury prone. Fitness seems to be another point of concern for the Indian. Mirza is picking up injuries regularly and her body is becoming increasingly susceptible. The fact that the hard surface is her preferred one also contributes to her injuries.

“Hard courts are tough on the body for it takes a lot out of the player. Every match is a taxing match,” says Raman.

“Her fitness levels are nowhere close to that of the other top-100 players,” Bhupathi agrees.
Experts feel that it is not possible for Sania to curb her natural abilities and, as such, she will continue making unforced errors through her career. But they do agree that she needs to be a lot more consistent with her game.

Could the problem also be that of too many cooks? She’s been working with too many coaches in the her short career — Bhupathi, Brett, John Buchanan and Tony Roche have all worked with Sania. Bhupathi disagrees. “All the coaches work according to a player’s strength and do not impose themselves,” he says, adding, “there’s no point in teaching serve and volley to a Spanish baseliner.”

This calls for a repair job: Brett believes Sania needs to improve the grey areas like her second serve, volleying and net game that will then combine effectively and become a support to her existing game.

“It is very important that your opponent is under threat when you hit a forehand. But you need to back it up with something else and close out,” says the former coach of Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic amongst others.

Brett believes this year will be tough for the Indian but things will be back on track in her third season. “She needs to stabilise this year and not worry much about her rankings, even if she goes down a few notches,” says Brett.

“She needs to consolidate herself in the 30s first and then move forward,” concurs CGK Bhupathi. “If that doesn’t happen the fall will be very drastic.”

Saturday, March 04, 2006

The7AM.com : Tennis news - Bush is a Sania fan

"The burgeoning fan list of Sania Mirza has a new entry — US President George W Bush. The most powerful man on earth today confessed his admiration of the Indian tennis star to a gathering of the cream of Indian society.

“I visited Hyderabad, the city of Sania Mirza,” said Mr Bush inviting loud cheers from the audience at the Purana Qila.

Just back from a daylong visit to the high-tech southern city, the US President found Sania the symbol of a modern India, which was the focus of his half-an-hour address.

He also paid tributes to Indian-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla who was killed when space shuttle Columbia crashed five years ago. “I know India will always be proud of Kalpana Chawla,’’ he said."