Sania must learn to distribute energy

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050924/asp/sports/story_5278770.asp

Serve & Volley Naresh Kumar

Our hopes, levitating sky-high, sadly came crashing down when Sania lost to Melinda Czink of Hungary in the second round of the WTA Sunfeast Open. Carried away by a wave of enthusiasm, fans were visualising a Sania-Myskina clash in the finals. Coming back to reality, Sania’s loss to a 121-ranked player reflected, among other things, the fickle nature of rankings. Ranking margins are very slim and do not take into account various factors such as injuries, etc. Sania and all fans must understand that the climb to higher rankings is peppered with such losses and should be used as a spur to greater effort. Everybody is asking: “What happened to Sania?” The Hon. Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, sitting one row behind me in the stands, observed: “Sania has lost five service games.” Experts are pummelling Sania about her serve. After a double fault, Sania, in a fit of temper, threw her racket on the court. One is worried that a constant barrage may in due course become a psychological hurdle for Sania in future. Speed is not of paramount importance in service. Depth, deception, variation can make up for lack of speed. So Sania should not despair on this account. The style and attitude of a player are really an extension of his or her personality. Any attempt to change this is fatal. Sania’s aggression should never be curbed. Only she must learn how and when to use her weapons for maximum return. The attempt should be to augment her attacking game, not change it. Another important factor, which comes to mind, is to learn how to distribute your energy in a match, especially in hot climates. It is self-destructing to slam the accelerator flat to the board. Your energy reserve has to be carefully nursed and parcelled. In my view, Sania’s all out effort in the first set, which she won 6-0 drained her resources. She had her opponent reeling on the ropes but could not deliver the K.. punch. Just a couple of games more and a forlorn Czink would have capitulated. But Sania could not maintain her level of play and errors crept into her game. To hit winners at the speed she does, one has to have perfect balance, position and timing. If the preparation for the shot is even a split second late you miss the target. Sania must be credited for her courageous fightback, when she was 1-4 down in the final set and levelled to 4-4. I was happy to see her hoist a couple of high top-spin forehands when out of position, instead of her usual going-for-broke shots. Leander Paes in his early days was impetuous and over aggressive, but I was able to tone him down and teach him to use his top speed at the most important stages of the match. For Sania, nothing is lost. Only, she must learn from her defeats and the mistakes she makes. She has to meet the challenge of getting a higher ranking the way she hits her forehand — blast it with all her strength.