Sania must concentrate on singles now, says Mahesh

BANGALORE: Blustery morning conditions gave way to bright sunshine just seconds before Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza — India’s hottest tennis property at the moment — walked on to the makeshift, roadside court.
The two were not about to pair in a mixed doubles match, but rather to spar in a best-of-three, five-point tiebreaker sets.

The cause? Promotion of the Sunfeast Open 2005, a three tier WTA tournament scheduled to be held in Kolkata in September this year. One wondered why a tournament to be held in Kolkata was being promoted here. Mahesh said: “We had done a few promotional events in Kolkata, but this being the home of title sponsors, we wanted to do something here,” said Mahesh, who won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Mary Pierce. “It’s a great way of creating awareness for an event.”

About the quality of players likely to participate the event, Mahesh said: “The final list of entries for the tournament will come through the WTA.

“But there are a few players we have in mind.”

Mahesh’s victory at Wimbledon and Sania’s own performance at the All England Club have left many wondering why the two can’t get together in mixed doubles. Mahesh was non-committal.

“We’ll see. At the moment the priority is to help Sania break into the top-50 (WTA singles ranking). “She’s improving on a monthly basis and she should concentrate on getting there.”

Sania would start favourite at the Sunfeast Open in September, but the teenager said she wasn’t expecting it to be a walk in the park.

“This is a three tier event, one step above the Hyderabad Open. Every match at this stage is tough. But I’m going to give it my best.”

Asked if she would like to pair with Mahesh in mixed doubles she said: “It will be an honour to play with Mahesh.”