I enjoy playing under pressure: Sania

I enjoy playing under pressure: Sania

The Asian Age India | K. Moses

Hyderabad: Sania Mirza may have lost the quarter-final match to Jelena Jankovic on Thursday but has won hearts unlimited with her giant-killing acts at the Dubai Open.

But India's best woman tennis player ever, who fought troublesome ankles and higher ranked opponents to barge through the first two rounds, keeps her feet firmly on the ground.

She gives due credit to the player who ended her dream run. "She was just too good and did not allow me to play my game," Sania told The Asian Age of World number 28 Jankovic. Excerpts:

Q: Where did it go wrong on Thursday?

A: I don't think it went wrong. Just that she just played too well and did not allow me to play my game.

I was trying to do a bit too much because she was not missing anything and was getting her way around. I guess that's why it looked like I was committing a lot of mistakes. But I really don't think I was making that many errors. She was playing so tight and forcing me to go for some extras.

I think she played one of the best matches. I saw her play earlier but she was never as accurate as she was against me... I guess it is one of her days.

Q: Her strong points?

A: She wouldn't let anything get past her. She was getting whatever I threw at her, back on the court. Also, she was going for the lines frequently and was getting on them. She served very good too, blasting the big ones in at the right times.

Q: How bad were your ankles yesterday? How are they now?

A: They were fine but were hurting me a little bit. But it's not gonna heal overnight. I guess I will have to wait for a couple of days to get the exact picture.

Q: Did you expect to get this far when you entered the tournament on a wild card?

A: No, when I came here I was only looking as far as the first round. I never really thought I would make it to the quarterfinals of such a big tournament.

This is the strongest field (the cut-off rank in the main draw being 36) you have played in after the Australian Open. How difficult is life at the top?

It is very tough but I am enjoying every bit of it. I enjoy hard work. I enjoy playing in front of all these people. I enjoy playing under pressure. You know you have to constantly learn and do a bit more than what you used to earlier. Playing at these (big) tournaments teaches you all those things and motivates you to push forward.

Q: How satisfying was the win against reigning US Open champion Kuznetsova?

A: It was a big bonus. It was a great feeling, especially since she is highly ranked player and a Grand Slam champion. I was just lost for words after that win.

Every match you play you have to give your 100 per cent but the drive and motivation to take on Kuznetsova came from my first round win against Kostanic, who is a totally different type of player — a hard hitter of the ball. She is a left-hander who is good at counter-punching and uses her pace cleverly... so to overcome a player of that variety was a good experience for me. My confidence level grew after that match.

Q: You must be very happy with your overall performance in Dubai...

A: Yeah, it feels good to have beaten a top-50 player (Jelena Kostanic) and follow that up with a victory over someone in the top-10 (Svetlana Kuznetsova).

It's been a great year for me... I hope it continues this way.

Q: At 77, you are very close to your renewed target of breaking into the top 50 in world rankings this year. Any plans to further upgrade your goal?

A: No, I would like to hit the target I have set first before thinking of resetting it. For the time being, it's the top 50 on mind.