Indian Davis Cup team hails Sania

Indian Davis Cup team members today hailed Sania Mirza's performance in the ongoing Dubai Open saying, ''She has done the country proud.'' ''Her showing has given boost to the game in the country and will encourage the youth in every walk of life to strive for excellence,'' said Indian Davis Cup skipper Leander Paes.

''Yesterday was a great moment in Indian women's tennis history when Sania beat US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of Dubai Open,'' Paes said and added, ''I was in meeting when I saw a flash on TV saying she was trailing 0-4 and after some time I was thrilled to see a flash saying she has won the first set. That shows she is a great fighter and is now all set to perform on big stage.'' ''Sania's victory over Kuznetsova reminded me of my win over Pete Sampras. It is great that an Indian is capturing the imagination of the sports fans abroad.'' ''The major advantage with Sania is that she has tremandous resilience which she has displayed time and again,'' ''It has been a great year for her. Every point she makes is bonus for her,'' added Paes.

Mahesh, whose father has coached Sania, said, ''She is on the roll and she should ride as long as it goes. It is not going to last long so she to be prepared for all the up and downs that come with such a roller-coaster ride.'' ''She has proved that her showing in Australian Open or at Hyderabad was no fluke and she can take on best in the game in their own backyard and that itself is a great achievement,'' he said.

Prakash Amritraj said, ''I have been with her on junior circuit and it is nice to see her doing so well.'' Harsh Mankad was of the view that Sania is playing at the highest level and that will motivate more youngsters to take to this game in the country.

Davis Cup coach Nandan Bal also described Sania's performance as fantastic and added, ''I hope the Davis Cup team will continue this winning streak in the Indian tennis.''