Sania's big test round the corner

BANGALORE: Sania Mirza is a work in progress. Every step forward means a hurdle cleared, a test passed. At No. 48 in the world rankings, after only seven months on the WTA Tour, she has come through many of those. But, the biggest test of her career lies ahead: post January 2006 when she's no longer the unknown factor.


Already, some of that anonymity has worn off thanks to the shock waves the 18-year-old sent through the tennis world with her performances in Melbourne, Hyderabad and Dubai. From the ‘unknown Indian' she has become "the difficult opponent"in the international media, who still refer to her with about the same vagueness as they pick out Indian spices that drill holes in their stomachs. Recognised but not read; discovered but not dissected.

If she continues playing the way she has, that will no longer be the case. The forehand will be broken down and the backhand taken apart, even if only on the drawing board. They will make a note that the serve is an area of weakness. The legs are not far behind either. They'll pull her wide or draw her to the net and mix slower balls with sharper angles. They'll push and probe and come prepared for the power. And at 30-40 the lines may indeed be tricky territory.

The fearlessness, she now wears so boldly on her sleeve, may not be so easy to flaunt because there will be a lot more to lose.

Come January, when Sania looks over her shoulder there will be a mountain of points to defend and when she looks ahead she will see that her opponents are better prepared. "I'm conscious of it,"she said of the points she will have to defend. "My parents normally keep a close watch on the points and other such aspects of the game while I just concentrate on giving it a go on the tennis courts."

As a rule for fast-climbing players, the first year is a breeze compared to the second. Russian diva Maria Sharapova, who is struggling to reproduce her form of last year, will agree with that. But that is not to belittle what Sania has achieved these last six months. In plainspeak, it is phenomenal.

Not since Vijay Amritraj broke through the men's game in the 70s have we had a teenager taking two steps at a time instead of one. Every time the bar was raised she reached up and over. After the Australian Open, the doubters called for week-in-week-out results. She replied with her first WTA Tour title. The next question came quickly enough: Could she match-up to the big girls? Sania responded with a win over reigning US Open champion SvetlanaKuznetsova. Top-50, the critics cried. She celebrated the breakthrough with her second top-10 scalp of the year — Russian Nadia Petrova. Every time her ability was challenged Sania stepped up.

The forehand may have evoked fear in opponents but it is her fearlessness that is her biggest weapon. "Right from the time I was 7 or 8, I was taught to never worry about results,"Sania explained. "Victories and defeats are all part of the game. I enjoy myself competing against anybody in the world and when you enjoy something, you rarely think about fear."

The immediate test for Sania is consistency. Can she stretch quality into quantity? Her coach John Farrington says, "One week at a time."

Ramesh Krishnan, India's Davis Cup heavy-weight and top-30 player in the men's game two decades ago, sticks with the positives. "While on the minus side you lose your anonymity, on the plus you have gained in experience,"he said.

"Points are nothing but a reflection of your playing ability. Once you get on court, your game has to be able to stand the test."

Sania's power-packed play has. Time and again.