Sania to use celebrity match to test her fitness

Sania Mirza today said she would use the celebrity mixed doubles match on the sidelines of the ABN Amro Tennis Challenge to test her fitness before she returns to competitive tennis.

Sania, who has been resting since a lower back strain forced her to pull out of a Tour event in October, said she had not fully recovered but her plan to train under revered Australian coach Tony Roche was on track.

"I am going to Australia to work with Tony Roche. I am getting there. I am not perfectly fit ... I will use this match as a kind of testing my back," said Sania.

The ABN Amro Challenge with a total prize money of USD 15,000 is a men's event featuring the top eight players of the country to be held tomorrow and the day after.

The winner of the event would earn a qualifying round wild card for the ABN Amro ATP Tour event in Rotterdam, Holland, in February next year.

Sania would be playing alongside Mahesh Bhupathi against Fed Cup teammate Shikha Uberoi and the 1996 Dutch Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, who is the brand ambassador of ABN Amro and Tournament Director of the Rotterdam event.

Asked if she would treat the match as a competitive one, Sania said "I am so excited (about the event), I really don't know. I think if it is India vs Holland it would be competitive." Bhupathi parried the question on playing with Sania at Grand Slams and other professional events.

"It is a question of when and where," he said.