Fitness is not my forte: Sania

Kolkata, Sep 19: Admitting that fitness was not her forte, Indian ace Sania Mirza today said she will continue to make up for that by playing aggressive shots.

"Fitness is not my forte. I cannot be as fit as say (Martina) Hingis or (Elena) Dementieva. Yes, I am going to be more patient. But I have to go for shots, I'll get some, I'll miss some," Sania told newspersons minutes after scripting a convincing straight-set win over Rushmi Chakravarthi in the opening round of the Sunfeast Open.

The 19-year-old Sania, who is battling lacklustre form and plummeting rankings, said she was looking forward to a possible battle with top seed Hingis in the semi-final of the tournament.

"I am looking forward to that as well," Sania said, when scribes drew her attention to Hingis' comments yesterday that she was eagerly waiting to play Sania.

"But just as Hingis has said, we both have to get to the last four first," she said.

Describing Hingis as a "great champion", Sania said "she is amazing to watch. It's good to have a player like Hingis here". Sania did not agree with her critics that it has been a bad year for her so far. "I am going to have some good years, some bad years. I don't think this year is as bad as some people have said." Sania, who shot into prominence over the last two years with some scintillating performances, said that she was now a more mature player.

To a query, Sania expressed her confidence that a revolution was brewing in tennis in the country.

"It may take five years, 20 years of even 25 years. See the number of girls playing tennis now. See the crowd that came here today to watch the matches." On her pairing with Leander Paes in Doha Asian Games mixed doubles, she said "it was decided by the selection committee. I don't mind whether it is Mahesh, Leander or Rohan. I think it is more important to bring medals for the country."