Sania optimistic

NEW DELHI: She may be forced to cool her heel on the sidelines, but Sania Mirza's heart beats for the country as hard as any other sports person in the country.

The 18-year-old Sania was at the practice session on Sunday evening, watching her teammates sweat it out in preparation for the Asia-Oceania Group `I' Fed Cup competition, after having watched the one-day cricket match at the Ferozeshah Kotla in the morning.

The Hyderabad lass expressed her disappointment about not being able to take the court and get ready for a competition that she had grown to like so much.

"I am waiting for the clearance from the doctor. Hopefully you will see me with the racquet soon,'' said Sania. She will be going to Hyderabad on April 19 for medical advice and return to Delhi the following day.

"It is really unfortunate. I was looking forward to playing the Fed Cup. Am hopeful yet,'' said Sania, who was particularly keen to make a forceful campaign with the US-based Shikha Uberoi in this edition.

"Shikha is a bonus to our team. Me and Shikha have a great rapport. We could make a very good doubles team, and there would have been less pressure on me. '' said Sania.

Frustrating injuries

She conceded that it was frustrating to face ankle injuries one after the other when she was playing the best tennis of her career.

"People don't know that I have been playing by taking three pain-killers every day for three months. I am lucky that there were no side effects. When you are winning, you want to continue. Australia happened. I was taking a break and returning. After the tournament in Miami we did the MRI and a bone scan. The doctors said that it didn't look bad initially. After the reports they said that there was excess fluid in the left ankle and a little on the right ankle as well that I had twisted in Hyderabad and Dubai. They advised me rest,'' said Sania.

She brushed aside the argument that it was projecting a wrong image that she was busy with her endorsements when she was supposed to be resting.

Sweet success

Sania, who has a 10-4 record for the season in singles in the big league that has seen her being catapulted to No.75 in the world, said that she was overwhelmed by the tremendous spell of success. Though the match against the eventual Australian Open champion Serena Williams made the world take note of her, the best was beating the US Open champion and world No.7 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2 after the Russian lady had held a gamepoint to go up 5-0 in the first set at the Dubai Open when Sania had hurt her ankle and was in tears.

"The world has changed. There was a wave after I won the Wimbledon junior doubles, but it sort of died down. This time it has stayed on, and it has taught me a lot. Am very happy and thankful to God,'' said Sania.

Captain Enrico Piperno had a brief chat with Sania and goaded her to give it a shot.

"We are happy to have a great captain in Rico. He wants the best team and the best from me,'' said Sania, who confessed her liking for cricket that saw her reach the Kotla at 7.30 this morning and watch half of the match.

Rushmi Chakravarthi also joined the team after her final appearance in singles and doubles of the $25,000 Challenger in Mumbai. She took it easy and relaxed on the sidelines along with Sania.

"It will be great if we can make it to the world group play-off. Australia is beatable and China is strong,'' Rushmi said.