Sania Mirza becomes first Indian to win a WTA title, India applauds

Noah Seelam - (AFP)

HYDERABAD, India (AFP) - Sania Mirza became the first Indian to win a WTA title when she defeated Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the final of the Hyderabad Open.

Mirza kept her cool in front of a boisterous home crowd to beat her ninth seeded opponent, who was also gunning for her maiden WTA crown.

The 18-year-old continued her fine run after having made the third round of the recent Australian Open, the only time an Indian woman has gotten past two rounds of a Grand Slam event.

Nerves seemed to get the better of Mirza at the start of the match as she double-faulted three times to allow Bondarenko to go 2-0 up, but the Ukrainian could not hold on in the face of some probing returns of serve.

A volley of powerful groundstrokes helped Mirza clinch the first set but she lost the second, which was replete with service breaks.

Mirza then ran up a 5-1 lead in the third set and the end of the match saw some high drama with Mirza celebrating victory after serving what she thought was an ace at 40-30 in the seventh game.

Mirza lost her concentration and conceded the game to Bondarenko, who followed it up by holding serve. Mirza had to wait for the ninth game to wrap up the match.

"This win has made me believe more in myself and I can now hope to do better in the coming days," Mirza said. "I wanted to win this tournament very badly since it was in my hometown."

Bondarenko, who got a walk-over in the semifinals from injured second seed Anna-Lenna Groenefeld of Germany, conceded that she was not at her best.

"I was really nervous in the final and did not play very well but I enjoyed the tournament and will surely be back here next year," she said.

India, meanwhile, rose in applause to applaud Mirza as firecrackers resounded across cities and towns.

"I am happy that an Indian player has won this title for the first time. I wish her success in future to bring more laurels to herself and to the country. I see a bright future for her", said Indian President Abdul Kalam in a message.

Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Congress party President Sonia Gandhi also congratulated Mirza.

"The country has great expectations from the Mirza. We congratulate her on the win," said Shekhawat.

Gandhi, the convener of India's coalition government said: "We wish the young tennis star success in her career".