Sania signs a style statement

Lotto's Fall Winter range is dedicated to the champ

GAME PLAN: Tennis ace Sania Mirza at the launch of Lotto's Fall Winter'06 Collection in Hyderabad on Friday. — PHOTO: SATISH H.

HYDERABAD: It's all bright and fresh. Lotto - an Italian sportswear brand launched its Fall Winter '06 Sania Signature Collection, with its brand ambassador Sania Mirza endorsing the products here on Friday.

According to the company the range includes a range of lively, stylish and comfortable clothing like T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, lowers, capris etc. Lotto has introduced bags and caps also for the first time.

The sportswear company has dedicated the entire FW '06 women's range to Sania.

All the apparels bear her signature giving "unique opportunity" to the consumer to wear the same style which Sania endorses, said K.V.S. Unni, Head- (India), Lotto Sports Italia.

Speaking to the reporters, Sania said, "I am happy to be involved with something so good and different. Rarely do we become a part of the process of designing our own wear. I thank Lotto for making the collection happen."

Sania needs to reach semis to meet Hingis

SPORT SANIA DRAW PRINT EMAIL
Sania needs to reach semis to meet Hingis

KOLKATA, SEP 16 (PTI)

A possible mouthwatering clash between Indian ace Sania Mirza and world No 9 Martina Hingis of Switzerland in the USD 175,000 WTA Sunfeast Open will have to wait till the semifinal stage.

Sania, seeded fifth, has got an easy opening round outing against a qualifier while top-seeded Hingis would be up against world number 84 Melinda Czink of Hungary, as per the draw of lots for the main tournament, which begins on Monday.

Czink, who had taken the fizz out of the Sunfeast Open last year by conquering crowd favourite Sania in the second round, has been in good form of late and could pose a few problems for title favourite Hingis.

Sania, whose ranking has plummeted to 70 after a series of lacklustre shows, would face the winner of the first round battle between Russian Galina Voskoboeva and Sandra Kloesel of Germany if she gets past the first round.

If the Hyderabadi crosses the hurdle, she could come up against fourth seed French girl Aravane Rezai, who crosses sword with Indian wild card Ankita Bhambri in the lung-opener.

In case Sania pulls off an upset of sorts and Hingis does justice to her reputation, the two could engage in a duel at the pre-summit stage of the tournament.

Among other Indians, 194-ranked Shikha Uberoi, who has got a wild card, face 132-ranked Czech girl Hana Sromova in the first round.

The other wild card entrant, US-born player of Indian origin Sunitha Rao, has a tough opener as she would be up against seventh seed Nicole Pratt of Australia.

Second seed and world No. 50 Croat Karolina Sprem has been drawn against Australian Casey Dellacqua, while third seed Yuliana Fedak of Australia takes on Italian Alberta Brianti in the first round.

Other first round duels include sixth seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia versus Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn and eighth seed Russian Anastassia Rodionova versus compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva.

Sania walks the ramp

Sania Mirza makes news whether she is on or off the tennis court as on Friday, she chose to be on the ramp, wearing clothes she had herself helped design.

Mirza, World number 70, who had enrolled to be a journalist in college but has turned a designer instead.

She herself walked the ramp to show the collection to her home crowd in Hyderabad.

"You will see that we have used a lot of bright colours, just to keep it light and keep the mood going," said Mirza.

Game of more interest

But it is not so much the clothes, but Sania's game itself that is perhaps more of interest or rather concern just now that Sania is slipping in the rankings ladder.

"I have matured as a player. As far as ranking is considered, it is a different thing and it keeps going up and down and there is nothing much I can do about it," said Mirza.

Sania says it does not matter that she has not won a title in 2006.

"I am 19 years old and I am not over the hill that suddenly I need to say that I cannot win a slam in singles. I might retire and I might never win a slam but that is not what we play for. Two years ago, no one ever thought I would be in the top 31 and again you are back to square one,'' said Mirza.

Sania would be in action before the Kolkotta crowd at the Sunfeast Open that starts next week.

Grand Slam title is not my goal: Sania

Hyderabad, Sep 15 : With her world ranking falling due to disappointing performance this season, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza Friday said her career might end without a Grand Slam title.

Stating that Grand Slam was not her goal and ranking was not her priority, the 19-year-old said she had matured as a player and was enjoying her game.

"I am enjoying the game and there is bound to be some ebb and flow. Two years back no one expected me to break into world top 50. I may or may not win a Grand Slam event but I still enjoy the game," she told newsmen at the launch of `Lotto Fall Winter '06 Signature collection' of Italian sports major Lotto.

Sania Mirza, whose ranking plummeted from an all-time high of 31 to 70 recently, did not agree that her form was as bad as being projected by the media.

"In the game there are going to be ups and downs. The rankings go up and come down. I am concerned about my game and I am enjoying playing it," she said.

Expressing confidence over her fitness levels, Sania hoped to have a good season ahead.

"My fitness levels are fine now. Only that I have some problem with my wrist as it hurts off and on", she said.

Sania, the only Indian to hold WTA title, claimed that she had improved on her serve and fitness and said she was working hard on some grey areas of her game.

"Earlier, I only had a good forehand. Now I have the entire game with me. The competition is also getting tougher. Previously, I was very offensive and that was my biggest weapon. Now I have added some tactical variations which did give some good results," she said.

Asked about playing doubles and mixed doubles, Sania said: "I'm nineteen and it is not time to think about playing doubles. I will be playing in the singles circuit for some more time."

She said she had no objection to playing with anyone for the doubles at Doha Asian Games.

Asked about playing alongside Leander Paes, she said: "I had played with him earlier and I have no objection playing with anyone."

I am ready to play with anyone: Sania

Photo: PTI

ROLE MODEL: Sania Mirza feels people like her have a role to motivate kids. She played with a few kids at an event to promote the Sunfeast Open.

MUMBAI: Sania Mirza has put personal choices aside about mixed doubles partners for Doha Asian Games. "I am ready to play with Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Prakash Amritraj or anyone else. It is not my choice. It is the committee which thought that we (Sania-Leander mixed doubles pairing) could do better."

She was facing a volley of questions at Inorbit Mall, Mumbai, as part of a promotion for the Sunfeast Open, to be organised by Globosport in Kolkata.

The hard-hitting Indian was referring to news reports about Leander agreeing to partner her at 2006 Doha Games, leading to Mahesh Bhupathi expressing surprise after being under the impression that Sania would team up with him. Finally, the AITA stepped in and opted to continue with the Busan Asian Games 2002 combination for Doha — Leander Paes and Sania Mirza. Sania said: "I had a phenomenal first year. It is humanely impossible to repeat it year after year. Critics are always there, I am an optimistic person so looking forward to doing better."

"You get figured out after a certain while," Sania said about her game. "It happens to everybody. Even when I am watching opponents' matches, I try to figure out ways to tackle them. It is not a major problem, only a minor one," explained Sania.

She accepts that sportspersons like her have a role to motivate kids through various events. "It is important to have clinics like these where you can meet kids, hit with them. It keeps them motivated. Leander and Mahesh used to be my idols. I still look up to them and remember, as a 12-year-old, getting Mahesh's autograph on a tennis ball when he had visited our academy." Now it is her turn to inspire, hitting with kids on an improvised tennis court set up in the mall lobby, watched by distracted shoppers, the sport freaks among them appearing courtside for a closer look.

I'm not as bad as being projected: Sania

Hyderabad, September 15: Tennis sensation Sania Mirza expressed confidence over her fitness levels, barring a minor problem with her wrist and hopes to have a good season ahead despite her fall in rankings."My fitness levels are fine now. Only that I have some problem with my wrist as it hurts on and off," Sania said during a promotional programme.

Sania, the solitary WTA title holder in the country, said she has matured as a player now and was working hard on some grey areas of her game.

"Earlier, I only had a good forehand. Now I have the entire game with me so is also the competition getting tougher," Sania, who slipped to 70 in the world ranking due to not so impressive recent performances, said. Brushing aside the talk of the form, the former Wimbledon junior doubles champion said, "in the game there are going to be ups and downs. The rankings go up and come down. I am concerned about my game and I am enjoying playing it." Sania said she did not feel that her form was as bad as being projected by the media.

"I am enjoying the game. There is bound to be some ebb and flow. Two years back no one expected me to break into world top 50. I may or may not win a Grand Slam even but still I enjoy the game," she said.

pic

NDIAN TENNIS SENSATION SANIA MIRZA GIVING TIPS TO SCHOOL CHILDREN, IN MUMBAI ON THURSDAY, DURING 'TENNIS IN THE MALL', A PROMOTIONAL EVENT ORGANISED AHEAD OF THE SUNFEAST OPEN, 2006

Promotional event for WTA tennis tournament 3

Sania Mirza attends a promotional event for the upcoming WTA tennis tournament during a function in Mumbai September 14, 2006. The WTA tennis tournament will take place in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata from September 18.

Promotional event for WTA tennis tournament 2

Sania Mirza speaks during a promotional event for the upcoming WTA tennis tournament during a function in Mumbai September 14, 2006. The WTA tennis tournament will take place in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata from September 18.

Promotional event for WTA tennis tournament 1

India's tennis player Sania Mirza attends a promotional event for upcoming the WTA tennis tournament during a function in Mumbai September 14, 2006. The WTA tennis tournament will take place in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata from September 18.

Promotional event for WTA tennis tournament

India's tennis player Sania Mirza plays a shot during a promotional event for the upcoming WTA tennis tournament during a function in Mumbai September 14, 2006. The WTA tennis tournament will take place in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata from September 18.

Sania to partner Liezel Huber in Sunfeast Open

Sania Mirza, currently enjoying a career-high doubles ranking as World No. 28 would have top doubles player Liezel Huber from South Africa as her partner in the doubles event of the Sunfeast Open Tennis tournament to be held in Kolkata from September 18-24.

Sania and Huber would be chasing their third title together, having won the WTA Bangalore Open Tennis Tournament earlier this season and the Hyderabad Open in 2004, a media release from the organisers said today.

The pair had also made the final at Amelia Island this year before losing the title-clash to the Japanese-Slovenian pair of Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik.

Apart from Amelia Island, Sania has also been a finalist in the doubles at Istanbul and Cincinnati during the 2006 season.

The 20-year-old Huber has 14 WTA doubles title to her credit, including a Grand Slam at Wimbledon last year. Apart from the Bangalore win with Sania, she has also won at Strasbourg with Martina Navratilova in 2006.

The South African player is currently ranked World No 21 in doubles after sliding down the ladder from a a career-high ranking of 4 which she reached on July 4, 2005.

Meanwhile another talented Indian player Shikha Uberoi has been given a wild card in the singles event in the 175,000 USD tier III WTA event, the organisers have said.

Shikha had a good run in the event last year, upsetting eighth seed Rika Fujiwara of Japan before coming a cropper agaist eventual champion Anastasia Myskina in the quarters.

Sania unfazed by drop in ranking

India's top woman tennis player Sania Mirza did not sound too concerned about the drop in her world ranking and was optimistic about her future at the international level.

Stating that she had a phenomenal first year on the WTA circuit, when her ranking rose as high as 33 in 2005, the Hyderabad-based lass insisted that it is not possible to repeat the feat year after year.

"It's not humanly possibly to repeat it year after year. I am optimistic (about her future)", the 70th-ranked Sania said at a promotional event for next week's Sunfeast Open in Kolkata, organised by the WTA tournament's promoters Globosport, in Mumbai on Thursday.

Sania, whose short career has been beset by a spate of injuries, also did not feel threatened by the fact that her game has been "figured out", and brushed it aside as a minor problem to be overcome.

"That's not a major problem, but only a minor one. It happens to all the players. Even I try to figure out the other players' game when I watch them on TV," she said.

Asked about the All India Tennis Association's decision to pit her with seasoned Davis Cup campaigner Leander Paes for the mixed doubles event in the December Asian Games in Doha,

Sania said it was the selection committee's decision and she would be happy to play with Paes or Mahesh Bhupathi or anyone else.

"It's not my choice. It's the committee's decision. I would have been happy to play with Leander or Bhupathi or anyone else," she said.

Sania will play in the individual events as well as team events in the Qatar Games. She will partner Shikha Uberoi in the women's doubles and Paes in the mixed event.

Sania said her decision to change her travelling coach quite often (S Narendranath, a former national champion, is her current coach) was because of the comfort factor.

"I have to spend around 18 hours a day with a traveling coach, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. I look out for someone I am comfortable with," she said.

She said she is now looking forward to playing in the Kolkata WTA event and said the tournament would help Indian fans know what goes into the making of a top player like Swiss

Grand Slam champion Martina Hingis, who has entered the event.

"It's through events like the Sunfeast Open that people in India would come to know what goes into the making of a top player like Martina Hingis.

"I am very excited to play in the tournament," she added.

Sania to be fourth seed at Sunfeast

With Sania Mirza's ranking nose-diving to 70, it means the Indian ace will be seeded only fourth at the WTA Tier III Sunfeast Open that gets underway here this Monday. Former World No 1 Martina Hingis featuring just inside the Top-10 on the WTA list, at 9, will lead the seedings in the 32-player draw.

Sania who was seeded No 3 at the inaugural edition of the tournament last year, will now be seeded behind the Swiss miss, Croatian Karolina Sprem (ranked 50) and Ukrainian Yuliana Fedak (64). Sania's conqueror last September Hungarian Melinda Czink (84) will be seeded eighth.

The Hyderabadi's second round exit last year acted as a dampener with fans wanting to see more of their home favourite. This time though they would be hoping to catch Sania and Hingis in a riveting duel on September 24.

Sania's downhill journey sore point for Sunfeast Open

Sania Mirza's lacklustre display and plumetting rankings may act as a dampener for the USD 175, 000 WTA Sunfeast Open that begins here on September 18.

The second edition of the fancied meet, with world No 9 Martina Hingis of Switzerland as the top seed, has nine players who are ranked among the top 100 in the WTA list.

However, apart from Hingis, the home-spun Sania was expected to be the main draw for the tennis fans of the metropolis who had turned out in numbers to watch the glamorous Hyderabad girl in action in the maiden edition of the tourney last year.

Sania, who created waves in the international circuit last year with a series of scintillating performances to shot up into the 30s in the run up to the tournament, caused quite a few hartbreaks when she went down to Hungarian Melinda Czink in the second round.

With Sania's exit, the fizz went out of the tournament, and even the final -- that featured top star Anastasia Myskina against Karolina Sprem -- was played before largely empty stands at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

And this came after a high-pitch build-up centering around Sania to the event.

In contrast to last year, Sania has seen her fortunes slide in the last two weeks as her rankings dropped sharply from 44 to 70 after back-to-back early defeats in WTA events as also the US Open.

The build-up to the tournament has also been low key this time compared to last year.

Sania to lead India's Asiad campaign

Leander Paes and Sania Mirza will lead India's campaign in both the individual and team tennis events at the Asian Games, in Doha in December.

Paes, who last played a singles match as Davis Cup captain against Pakistan in Mumbai in April, will be joined by Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Harsh Mankad, Karan Rastogi and Prakash Amritraj in the individual men's event.

Mankad, who was not available for Davis Cup duties this year, has been chosen ahead of Amritraj by virtue of his better ATP Tour ranking in the team event alongside Paes, Bhupathi and Bopanna.

Amritraj and Rastogi are in the reserves.

In doubles, Paes will pair with former Grand Slam partner Bhupathi while Amritraj will take the court alongside Bopanna, according to the team announced by All India Tennis Association on Tuesday.

The women's team comprises Sania, Shikha Uberoi, Ankita Bhambri, Isha Lakhani, Rushmi Chakravarthy and Sandya Nagraj in the individual competition.

The first four of them will play the team event while Rushmi and Sandhya are the reserves.

The doubles teams comprise the pairings of Sania and Shikha and Ankita with Isha.

Paes and Sania form the star mixed doubles combine while Bhupathi and Shikha constitute the second team.

The singles nominations will be announced later.

The AITA also confirmed Paes and Sania representing India in the Asian Hopman Cup, to be played in Hyderabad in November.

It also announced the appointment of Akhtar Ali as the non-playing captain for the Indo-Pak Series, which will feature four one-day ties on November 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th.

Bopanna, Rastogi, Divij Sharan and Vivek Shokeen form the Indian team for the matches that will be held at Islamabad, Lahore, Chandigarh and Gurgaon respectively.

Sania's world ranking plunges to 70

The US Open has brought lots of bad news and some cheers to the Indian fans, with Sania Mirza's world ranking taking a steep dive to 70 on the women's tour and Leander Paes returning to the top-10 in the ATP Doubles individual rankings.

It was a loss of 16 places for the 19-year old Hyderabadi lass from her previous ranking and it came after the second round loss at the year's final Grand Slam.

The Indian's best singles performance this season has come on the US hard courts with two quarterfinal appearances, at Cincinnati and Forest Hills.

The last of those two results came a week before the Open but Sania could not extend it to the courts of Flushing Meadows where she went down to Francesca Schiavone of Italy in straight sets.

Paes gained three places and was ranked ninth, thanks to his doubles triumph with Martin Damm of Czech Republic who was one rung below the Indian ace.

It was Paes' fourth crown, besides three mixed doubles titles, and his first without partnering Mahesh Bhupathi with whom he had won the French Open in 1999 and 2001, and the Wimbledon in 1999.

Paes was returning to the top-10 after 14 weeks, having gone out of the elite zone since the week of May 15. Bhupathi's own free fall continued as he slipped two places further to be 29th.

sania in action

Sania Mirza of India serves against Francesca Schiavone of Italy during the US Open at the USTA Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Schiavone won 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006

Sania may not be among top three seeds at Sunfeast

Sania Mirza may not receive a top three seeding in the forthcoming Sunfeast Open here due to her indifferent form, tournament director Jaidip Mukherjea said Friday.

While the focus of the tournament will be former world number one Martina Hingis of Switzerland, Croat Karolina Sprem and Estonian Kaia Kanepi are also expected to take a leap in the WTA rankings because of their fine form in recent tournaments as well as the ongoing US Open.

With another early exit in the US Open, Sania is sure to drop more points, while Kaia with a third round entry is sure to gain some.

Sania has dropped to 50 in the world rankings as she made early exits from all major tournaments this year. Her only hope is to do well in Bali Open, which is immediately before this tournament.

Talking to reporters, Mukherjea said all three wildcards would be given to Indian players. With Sikha Oberia and Ankita Bhambri sure to get wildcards, the third spot is up for grabs.

Abigail Spears of the US has been given a special entry as a 'Feed-Up' player.

Twelve players will vie for the four qualifying spots and complete the main draw of 32.

Mukherjea also said Canadian Tony Cho will be the WTA appointed tournament referee.

Main Draw (direct entry):

Martina Hingis, Sania Mirza, Karolina Sprem, Yuliana Fedak, Melinda Czink, Kaia Kanepi, Aravane Rezai, Galina Voskoboeva, Yulia Beygelzimer, Hana Sromova, Anastasia Rodionova, Nicole Pratt, Olga Poutchkova, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Angelique Widjaja, Antonella Serra Zaneti, Sandra Kloesel, Lioudmila Skavronskaia, Tatina Piutchek, Yung-jan Chan, Anda Perianu, Tzipore Obziler, Arantxa Para Santonja, Anne Keothavong.

Sania capable of reaching top 20, says Brett

NEW DELHI: He sweated it out for more than three hours under hot sun and high humidity, training 50-odd tennis players, but when he opted to face the microphones and the media, the subject was about his best ward from the country who was not present on the occasion — Sania Mirza.

As the coach who had predicted first that Sania would be a top-30 player when she was hovering in the 400s, and who had trained her a few times at his base in Italy, at San Remo, Bob Brett was quick to defend Sania, by saying that she was just suffering from `second year blues' on the tour.

The 52-year-old Australian who has trained the likes of Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic, Marat Safin and Mario Ancic, jokingly said that he had perhaps made a mistake in his assessment when he found that Sania's best ranking so far was No. 31.

On a more serious note, Bob Brett said that Sania was capable of reaching the top-20 in the next two years, if she focused as much on strengthening her strong points as she may be obsessed in working on her weaknesses.

"In the last couple of years, Sania has gone beyond all expectations," he said.

"The challenge is to stay up there. Despite much higher levels of competition, the expectations remain high.

"Her game has improved a lot, but there is no end to improvement for all of us. She may be missing easy forehands, but she still has one of the best forehands on the tour. Well, it is not about having a good serve, a strong forehand or volley, but the ability to combine them for a winning game.

She has to believe that she has a big serve. She has to believe that she has the ability to be much higher and have the discipline to work towards progress,'' said Bob Brett.

The genial coach summed up by saying that Sania was a work in progress, indeed a work of art. She has to pursue her dreams and have the motivation to prepare for the next year.

On the subject of Sania changing coaches a few times through the season, the Japanese Davis Cup coach said that it was a question of finding the right chemistry, and the results could be expected only after nine months and any good results in the first few months was just good fortune.

Sania goes shopping4

Though Sania has dropped out of the top 50 rankings, her mentor Mahesh Bhupathi is backing her to do even better than she did last year.

'She's 20 years old, people normally stagnate when they're 45, right? So give her a break,' Bhupathi said when reporters asked if he thought Sania was faltering. Here, Sania, her dad Imran Mirza and coach Narendranath make a bite stop in the midst of all the shopping.

Sania goes shopping3

Muslim clerics threatened to issue a fatwa against Sania for wearing short skirts during her matches last year.

But such was her appeal in India that the controversy died down soon as the clerics were overwhelmed by national contempt.

Sania, who struggled to find backers during her earlier years in the game, signed up many endorsements after her success (she was the first Indian woman to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament at the 2005 US Open).

At one point she was considered a serious challenger to Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in the endorsement sweepstakes.

Sania goes shopping2

Sania appreciates a selection of jackets.

Her choice of T-shirts made for as much newspaper copy and comment last year as did her game.

She remains the highest ranked lady tennis player ever from India. Though she has slid to 54 in the ATP rankings this year, Sania was ranked 31 in singles and 109 in doubles in October 2005.

Sania goes shopping1

indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza shops in Manhattan along with her father Imran Mirza (centre) and coach Narendranath.

Sania lost her final event in the US Open on Monday when she and South African partner Liezel Huber lost their third round match in the women's doubles event.

Way to go, Sania

Sania Mirza seems to have run out of luck as her rivals have figured out her game. She lost early in the US Open, and is out of the top-50 for the first time since last year. She has also failed to live up to her performance last year in the run-up to the US Open. But her mentor Mahesh Bhupathi begs to differ.

“She’s 20 years old, people normally stagnate when they’re 45, right? So give her a break,” said Bhupathi when reporters asked if he thought she was faltering.

Even as Bhupathi backed Sania, he had some tough words for India's gen-next comprising Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna and Karan Rastogi. The trio is vying for wildcard entries for the Kingfisher Airlines Open in Mumbai at the end of this month, despite some ordinary performances on the circuit.

“Rohan and Prakash did well in Chennai, they beat the guys in the top under, they won one match each. So it’s an opportunity for them... if they’re not up to the challenge, they need someone to give them a yelling,” said Bhupathi.

Bhupathi, who recently unveiled the logo of the upcoming ATP event in Mumbai along with Kingfisher Airlines CEO Vijay Mallya, will himself be in action at the Open. In all likelihood, he will be partnering Croat Mario Ancic in the tournament's doubles. But Bhupathi has not ruled out partnering Leander Paes in the future.

“We’re definitely playing together in December at the Asian Games, as for other tournaments we have to wait and see,” he said.

Bhupathi has had a dismal year in the doubles circuit so far with no regular partner, and teaming back with Paes could be the shot in the arm that Bhupathi is looking for.

Sania, Leander move up

New York: Sania Mirza entered the US Open women’s doubles quarter finals, but bowed out of the mixed event on Sunday. Leander Paes and Martin Damm won their match to advance to the third round of men’s doubles.

Paes and Czech partner Damm got the better of Alexander Peya (Austria) and Bjorn Phau (Germany) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) at Flushing Meadow.

Paes and Damm will next meet Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) and Graydon Oliver (US) who upset 11th seeds Julian Knowles and Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

In women’s doubles, the 11th-seeded combination of Sania and South African Liezel Huber trounced Stephanie Cohen-Aloro (France) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) 6-0, 6-3 to book a last-eight berth.

They next face sixth-seed Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) and Francesca Schiavone (Italy), who beat ousted Ukranians Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5, 6-1.

In mixed doubles, Sania and Czech Pavel Vizner went down fighting to Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia & Montenegro) 6-2, 3-7, 7-10 in the first round.

Sixth seed Sanam Singh was shown the door by unseeded Yoann Re of Canada in the first round of boys’ singles. Sanam lost 1-6, 1-6.

Rupesh Roy also lost his first-round match, to Gastao Elias of Portugal 6-4, 5-7, 0-6.

US Open: Sania out of doubles

COURTED OUT: Sania-Huber lost 6-3, 3-6, 5-7 to the sixth seeded pair of Peschke-Schiavone.

New York: India's teenage tennis star Sania Mirza was ousted from the US Open, when she and her South African partner Liezel Huber were defeated in the third round of the women's doubles event.

Sania and Huber, seeded 11th, lost 6-3, 3-6, 5-7 to the sixth seeded pair of Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Francesca Schiavone of Italy at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

The two had made it to the third round of the doubles event after beating France's Stephanie Cohen-Aloro and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 6-0 6-3 in the second round and an American pair of Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi 6-4, 6-0 in the first round.

It was the more experienced Schiavone who had proved Sania's undoing in the women's singles. The Indian ace lost the second round match to 14th seeded Italian 7-5, 1-6, 2-6, Thursday.

The 19-year-old Sania had beaten experienced Croat Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes in her opening singles match last week, in what was considered as one of her best wins of the year.

Sania had lost the mixed doubles battle in the first round itself. Sania and her partner Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic went down fighting 2-6, 6-3, 7-10 to Katarina Srebotnik of Slovania and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Montenegro.

The Hyderabad girl became the first Indian woman to reach the women's singles fourth round at her first US Open in 2005.

She then lost to Maria Sharapova of Russia in the pre-quarterfinals in the singles, but could not go beyond the first round in the doubles.

Sania enters doubles third round

NEW YORK: India's Sania Mirza entered the third round of the women's doubles at the US Open, but lost the mixed doubles battle in the first round.

Sania and Liezel Huber of South Africa, seeded 11, beat France's Stephanie Cohen-Aloro and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain 6-0, 6-3 in the second round at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.

They had beaten the American pair of Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi in the second round.

However, pairing with Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic, Sania lost the mixed doubles battle in the first round itself to Katarina Srebotnik of Slovania and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia and Montenegro, but not before extending them into the third set.

They lost to the sixth seeded pair 2-6, 6-3, 7-10 after a tough long struggle.

Sania was knocked out of the women's singles by 14th seed Italian Francesca Schiavone Thursday. The Indian star went down 7-5, 1-6, 2-6, in the second round match.

Sania, Leander advance

New York: Not discouraged by her singles exit at the US Open, India’s Sania Mirza, partnering South African Liezel Huber, moved into the second round of the women’s doubles in style.

Leander Paes and Czech Republic’s Martin Damm also advanced into the second round of the men’s event with a facile victory over Petr Pala and Robin Vik on Friday.

Paes and Damm, the sixth seeds, knocked out the Czech combo 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.

Sania and her partner Liezel, the 11th seeds, outplayed the American duo of Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi 6-4, 6-0 in the first round at Flushing Meadows on Thursday.

Sania and Liezel, who won the Bangalore Open title this February, next play Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, who defeated Austrian Sybille Bammer and Julia Schruff of Germany 7-5, 6-2 in their opening match.

Sania had earlier lost in the second round of the singles, going down 7-5, 1-6, 2-6 to Francesca Schiavone of Italy.

Meanwhile, multiple Grand Slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi and Argentina’s Paola Suarez pulled out of the mixed doubles event.

“We had to pull out because Paola was injured,” Bhupathi said.

'Star of India' Sania attracts media notice

Sania Mirza's two-hour, 18-minute losing battle in the US Open against Italy's Francesca Schiavone has drawn the attention of tennis writers on the tournament's official website.

"Experience and patience prevailed," said Aimee Berg, describing the ouster Thursday of what she called the "Star of India".

Even though the match featured more unforced errors than winners (78 compared to 64), it was compelling for its 30 break points as well as Mirza herself, Berg said, describing her as a "controversial Indian teenager".

The 19-year-old superstar has become a model of female independence back home, Berg said. Her combination of tennis skill and conformity-busting style landed her on the cover of Time magazine as one Asia's 2005 heroes.

Worldwide, she attracted media attention at last year's US Open for showing up for a post-match press conference wearing a shirt that said, "I'm cute? No S---" (with the letters filled in).

At Wimbledon that year, she wore another shirt that read: "Well-behaved Women Rarely Make History."

Back home in Hyderabad, her tennis attire generated a row. According to Time, Islamic clerics issued fatwas censuring Mirza and demanding that she ditch the short shorts.

Here in New York, her garb fit right in but her game was a bit more problematic, Berg said.

In a pre-match column on the US Open official site, tennis writer Matthew Cronin said the Sania-Schiavone contest "should be a very entertaining match and is a must-see for tennis wonks".

The Sania phenomenon has died down a little, the writer said, adding she was inconsistent and "isn't an adept enough on-court thinker".

Mirza has one of the strongest forehands and a good backhand, but her movement is so-so, her serve is weak, and while she returns very well against the non-elite, she has trouble reading good players serves, he said.

"She needs to be loving her sport to perform well and right now, and she's not. Sania has lost plenty of three-setters this year and is capable of losing another one, but the feeling here after she overpowered Karolina Sprem in the first round is that she'll hit straight Schiavone and win in two sets," Cronin said.

But that was not to be.

Sania in doubles 2nd round, Bhupathi out

Sania Mirza and Liezel Huber of South Africa beat the American pair of Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi 6-4, 6-0 in the first round of women's doubles at the US Open on Thursday.

However, Mahesh Bhupathi and his Argentine partner Paola Suarez crashed out of the mixed doubles event.

The duo lost 6-4, 1-6, 8-10 to Anastassia Rodionova (Russia) and Kevin Ullyett (Zimbabwe).

Earlier in the day, Sania Mirza bowed out of the US Open women's singles event with a three-set loss to Fransesco Schiavone of Italy in the second round.

Much like her Wimbledon loss to Elena Dementieva, Sania started strongly before fading out, losing 7-5 1-6 2-6 to the 14th seed in the year's final Grand Slam at the Flushing Meadows. (PTI)

pic

Sania Mirza of India returns a forehand to Francesca Schiavone of Italy during the US Open at the USTA Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Schiavone won 5-7, 6-1, 6-2

pic

Italy's Francesca Schiavone (R) shakes hands with India's Sania Mirza after Schiavone's win at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 31, 2006

pic

India's Sania Mirza falls during her match against Italy's Francesca Schiavone at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 31, 2006

pic

Sania Mirza of India hits a return to Francesca Schiavone of Italy at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006.

pic

Sania Mirza of India hits a return to Francesca Schiavone of Italy at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006.

pic

Sania Mirza of India hits a return to Francesca Schiavone of Italy at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006

pic

Sania Mirza celebrates winning a point during her match against Italy's Francesca Schiavone at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 31, 2006

pic

Sania Mirza celebrates winning a point during her match against Italy's Francesca Schiavone at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 31, 2006

pic

Sania Mirza celebrates winning a point during her match against Italy's Francesca Schiavone at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 31, 2006

pic2

Sania Mirza plays a shot to Italy's Francesca Schiavone during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York August 31, 2006. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Sania flatters to deceive

new york, august 31 :Sania Mirza flattered to deceive once again as she bowed out of the US Open women’s singles with a three-set loss to Fransesco Schiavone of Italy in the second round here today. Much like her Wimbledon loss to Elena Dementieva, Sania started strongly before fading out, losing 7-5, 1-6, 2-6 to the 14th seed in the year’s final Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows. If anything, the Italian proved an even tougher nut to crack than Dementieva while taming Sania in two hours and 20 minutes to advance to the third round.

The first set saw Schiavone rally from 1-4 down to go 5-4 up. But the Hyderabad girl held her nerve to retain her serve for 5-5 and broke her opponent in the next game by earning triple breakpoints.

Sania appeared to be on a roll as she garnered three set points and rounded off the set in style.

But the second set turned out to be a disaster. Schiavone broke Sania three times to mark a complete turn around in the match.

Sania still has a chance. She and Liezel Huber will take on the American pair of Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi in the women’s doubles first round. While, Sania will team up with Pavel Vizner in the mixed doubles to face Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjic.

Hingis, Sania top seeded for Kolkata Open tennis

Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis and current No. 54 Sania Mirza will be the star attraction at the $175,000 Sunfeast Open tennis tournament starting here Sep 18, it was announced here Thursday.

A Tier III tournament, Sunfeast Open will have as many as nine of the top 100 ranked players of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the organisers said here.

Besides Switzerland's Hingis, who has been top seeded for the tournament, Croatian Karolina Sprem, runner-up in the first edition of the event in 2005, Yuliana Fedak from Ukraine and Hungarian Melinda Czink are the other well-known names that will compete at the Netaji Indoor Stadium Sep 18-24.

Some of the other better known players taking part are Galina Voskoboeva of Russia, Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai and Yulia Beygelzimer of Ukraine.

"In its second edition itself the Sunfeast Open has grown in stature and this year too we have an array of top players who will provide some scintillating action on the courts," said Mahesh Bhupathi, whose company Globosport India is organising the tournament.

Bhupathi, who is Golobosport's managing director, said each of the promising youngster is capable of winning their first WTA title, adding excitement to the challenge.

"The leading players have beaten the best in the field and this fact holds promise for some dazzling display for tennis lovers of our country. I am pleased to say that the Sunfeast Open has lived up to its objective of attracting the finest talent and providing Indian fans a chance to watch great tennis."

Apart from three wild cards that will be announced soon, four players will make it from the qualifying round to be held Sep 16 and 17.

Seedings: 1 Martina Hingis (Switzerland), 2. Sania Mirza (India), 3. Karolina Sprem (Croatia), 4. Yuliana Fedak (Ukraine), 5. Melinda Czink (Hungary), 6. Galina Voskoboeva (Russia), 7. Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), 8. Aravane Rezai (France), 9. Yulia Beygelzimer (Ukraine), 10. Hana Sromova (Czechoslovakia), 11. Anastassia Rodionova (Russia), 12. Nicole Pratt (Australia), 13. Olga Poutchkova (Russia), 14. Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand), 15. Angelique Widjaja (Indonesia), 16. Antonella Serra Zanetti (Italy), 17. Sandra Kloesel (Germany), 18. Lioudmila Skavronskaia (Russia), 19. Tatiana Poutchek (Belarus), 20. Yung-jan Chan (Taipei), 21. Anda Perianu (Romania), 22. Tzipora Obziler (Israel), 23. Arantxa Parra Santonja (Spain) and 24. Anne Keothavong (Britain).

Sania faces seeded Italian in US Open round 2

New York - India’s Sania Mirza is set to meet Italian 14th seed Francesca Schiavone in the second round of the $5,690,000 US Open after one of her best wins of the year.

The 19-year-old Sania, who lost in the quarter-finals at the Forest Hills US Open primer last week, beat experienced Croat Karolina Sprem 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes in the first round at Flushing Meadows Monday.

Steadier on her serve and more aggressive with her ground strokes, Sania got the breakthrough she was looking for in the 10th game to take the opening set 6-4. Quickly pushing home her advantage, she jumped out into a 4-1 lead to take the set 6-2 and move into the second round.

Apart from singles, Sania has entered the women’s doubles event with Liezel Huber of South Africa and the mixed doubles event with Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic.

Sania became the first Indian woman to reach the women’s singles fourth round at her first US Open in 2005. She then lost to Maria Sharapova of Russia in the pre-quarterfinals in the singles, but could not go beyond the first round in the doubles.

Meanwhile, World No. 1 star Amelie Mauresmo and former top-ranked players Martina Hingis and Serena Williams also posted first round wins Wednesday.

The reigning Wimbledon, Australian Open and WTA Championships title holder, Mauresmo needed two days to get past qualifier Kristina Barrois 6-1, 7-5.

The match was suspended because of rain Tuesday, with Barrois leading 5-2 in the second set, but the top-seeded French star returned to the court to win five straight games, and the match, on Day 3 of the Open.

An eighth-seeded Hingis snuck past Chinese Shuai Peng 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. The five-time Grand Slam champion Hingis titled here in 1997 and was the back-to-back runner-up in 1998 and 1999.

An unseeded Williams trounced Spaniard Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes. The seven-time Grand Slam title holder Serena captured the US Open in 1999 and 2002 and was the runner-up to her big sister Venus in 2001.

Top stars to vie for Sunfeast Open 2006 title

A dazzling line up featuring the generation next of women’s tennis from across the world will take centre stage from September 18 - 24 at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here for Sunfeast Open 2006, the second edition of South Asia’s prestigious WTA tournament. Leading the star studded contingent will be the Swiss Miss and former World No.1 Martina Hingis and India’s teenage sensation and superstar Sania Mirza.

Of the gritty girls who will battle for the $175,000 Sunfeast Open title in the Tier III tournament, as many as 9 are among the WTA Top 100, including the Croation Karolina Sprem, the runner-up in the inaugural edition of the event in 2005, Yuliana Fedak from Ukraine and Hungarian Melinda Czink. Sizzling up the fray with their exciting brand of explosive tennis will be other Top 100 players such as Galina Voskoboeva (Russia), Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), Aravane Rezai (France) and Yulia Beygelzimer (Ukraine).

The Sunfeast Open, the most prestigious Sony Ericsson WTA tournament ever held in India is organized by Globosport, India’s leading sports and entertainment management company headed by Indian tennis idol Mahesh Bhupathi. The inaugural edition of the Sunfeast Open was an outstanding success and testimony to the joint efforts of Government of West Bengal, Globosport and ITC, one of India’s most valuable and respected corporations, who are the Title Sponsors of the Event.

Announcing the field of players (see attached list), Mahesh Bhupathi, Managing Director, Globosport India said, “In its second edition itself the Sunfeast Open has grown in stature and this year too we have an array of top players who will provide some scintillating action on the courts. The presence of a group of promising youngsters, each capable of winning their first WTA title will add excitement to the challenge. The leading players have beaten the best in the field and this fact holds promise for some dazzling display for tennis lovers of our country. I am pleased to say that the Sunfeast Open has lived up to its objective of attracting the finest talent and providing Indian fans a chance to watch great tennis.”

Mr Ravi Naware, Divisional Chief Executive ITC Foods said, “Sunfeast Open, India’s biggest WTA tournament has been a huge draw and will continue to enthrall the crowds each year. With the successful completion of the first edition in 2005 and the brilliant player field this year, Kolkata has been placed amongst the elite cities in the world of tennis. We are thrilled that our pioneering association with the Sunfeast Open since its inception has helped raise the profile of women’s tennis in India and resulted in the active involvement of thousands of youngsters through our unique initiatives, like the Sunfeast Open Design the Trophy Contest and our Sunfeast Open Ball Boy and Ball Girl Contest.”

In 1997, Martina became the fastest player ever to win $1 million in a season and a day later became the youngest-ever world No. 1, ending Steffi Graf's record reign (for men and women) of 377 total weeks. Martina has had a good run this season and last week she made her first appearance in the Top 10 since October 13, 2002. Currently ranked No. 9 in the World and seeded number one at the Sunfeast Open, 2006, Martina will be making her maiden appearance in India.

Sania Mirza is no stranger to the Courts and Galleries at Kolkata. Egged on as always by her legion of delirious fans, Sania will lead the Indian charge at the Sunfeast Open 2006. Martina and Sania, however, will be mistaken if they have planned an easy route to the finals. Snapping at their heels will be Sprem who would be trying hard to overcome the disappointment of losing out in the finals of Sunfeast Open last year. The former World No.17 is back with a vengeance and an eye firmly fixed on the crown. This year she has already recorded her career-best performance at Roland Garros reaching the third round with an upset win over No.18 seed Likhovtseva before eventually going down fighting to No.11 seed Venus Williams. Sania has now gained an upper hand over Sprem by defeating her yesterday in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of the US Open 2006.

For Ukranian Yuliana Fedak this will be the second visit to India during the year. In February, she played at the Bangalore WTA tournament where she recorded a quarter-final appearance before losing to the eventual winner. Fedak has partnered with both Sania Mirza and Melinda Czink but won’t give space to either in her quest for the maiden WTA title.

Czink is 2005’s culprit when she put paid to the hopes of millions of Indians by defeating Sania Mirza in the pre-quarters in a thrilling three-setter (0-6, 6-4, 6-4). Sania and India will be eagerly seeking sweet revenge should the two meet in the 2006 edition. The recent defeat to Martina Hingis in Dubai is also likely to play on Sania’s mind if the duo charts the expected path into the finals. However, Sania is capable of beating the best on her day, something that each of her opponents in the draw would be aware of.

Waiting in the wings will be the Thai star Tamarine Tansasugarn for whom India is a favourite hunting ground having won the WTA Hyderabad Open in 2003. The Asian star has been a steady performer on the Tour and also has five doubles titles. Not to be ignored are also a handful of youngsters eagerly awaiting their day to prove their mettle. Apart from three wild cards that will be announced soon, the qualifiers that will be held on September 16 and 17 will throw up four more participants.

In the battle between the stars, the real winner is the Indian tennis fan, for whom the opportunity of watching the game’s brightest sparks has come right to the doorstep. As fans wait with bated breath and the girls work harder on their game, the Sunfeast Open 2006 promises a week of high octane tennis served up in style and in the spirit of the game.

pic1

Sania Mirza of India celebrates her win over Karolina Sprem of Croatia during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 28, 2006. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

pic

Sania Mirza of India serves to Karolina Sprem of Croatia during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 28, 2006.

Sania Mirza of India returns a shot to Karolina Sprem of Croatia during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, August 28, 2006

US Open: Paes, Sania get seeding in doubles

Leander Paes and Sania Mirza were today seeded sixth and seventh in the men's and women's doubles respectively at the US Open Grand Slam tennis.

Paes and Czech Republic's Martin Damm will take on Czech duo Petr Pala and Robin Vik in the first round.

The Indian star is in the top half of the draw which also features his compatriot and former partner Mahesh Bhupathi.

Bhupathi, partnering Xavier Malisse of Belgium, will come up against Leos Friedl of Czech Republic and Russian Mikahil Younzhny in the opening encounter.

Sania is paired with South African Liezel Huber with whom she won the Bangalore Open title and reached the final in two other WTA Tour events.

The Indo-South Africa combination will launch their campaign against Angela Haynes and Neha Uberoi of the US.

Sania drops to 54 in the rankings

Sania Mirza's poor singles form has seen her drop out of the top-50 in the latest WTA Rankings. The 19-year-old slipped 10 places to 54 in the rankings released on Monday.

Sania Mirza, who is in a wretched form, has struggled this year and is finding it diificult to establish herself at the top level after a dream start last year. Sania Mirza, winner of Best newcomer award for 2005, had a great first year on tour as she leapfrogged from 350+ in the rankings to top 50 last year but has failed to show the same form this year. Sania who was ousted in the 2nd round last week at the Tier IV Forest Hills tournament has 424 ranking points. However Sania was able to hold on to her highest ever doubles ranking of 28 position with 971 points.

Sania has a tough first round encounter at the US open against Karolina Sprem. With this drop, Sania has now dropped three places below her first round US open opponent 51st ranked Sprem.

Sania at the US Open

As the US Open begins tonight (August 28), India's Sania Mirza hopes to regain her form in the last grand slam of the year. Sania Mirza will begin her campaign at the US Open later tonight against 50th ranked Karolina Sprem. The Indian teenage tennis sensation sits four steps below her first round US Open opponent and is hoping to regain her form in the last grand slam of the year.

Last year, the US Open proved to be the high point in the career of Sania Mirza. The 19 year old had reached the 4th round of the Open. That capped of a super year for Sania that began with a 3rd round exit at the Australian Open and a second round place at the Wimbledon.

Which in turn saw Sania's singles ranking climb to 31 in the world. She became the toast of the town. But since then, battles with form and injury have seen the ranking drop. After being at ranked 37 at the start of the year and then ranked 41 around the French Open and currently at 54, Sania seems to be losing out.

Expressing his views, Vijay Amritraj said:" Wins and losses come very frequently. We can't monitor every week in and week out. She is a very young girl with lot of good years ahead of her. I think, the most important thing is that she has to stay physically fit to work on her weaknesses in co-ordination with her coach."

This year, Sania begins her US Open campaign with a match up against the marginally higher ranked Karolina Sprem. She will be hoping that the open once again proves lucky as she struggles to get back to top billing.

Sania-Marta pair crashes out of Rogers Cup

Sania Mirza's campaign at the Rogers Cup came to an end after the Indian and her Polish partner Marta Domachowska crashed out of the doubles competition with a 6-3, 2-6, 5-7 loss at the hands of Italian-American pair of Tathiana Garbin and Meilen Tu.

Sania, who had earlier made a first round exit in the singles competiton of the WTA tier I event, and Marta squandered a good start and Tathiana and Meilen were quick to capitalise and rally from behind to seal the match in their favour.

The more then two-hour-long match started off well for the Indo-Polish pair, who broke their opponents thrice on way to winning the first set with ease.

The second set, however, proved to be the turning point match as Sania and Marta lowered their guard, which allowed Tathiana and Meilen to make a remarkable recovery.

The Indo-Polish pair wasted three break points and their serve also let them down as Tathiana and Meilen broke them thrice to take the match into the third set, which was a hard-fought affair.

The two pairs twice exchanged break of serve but Sania and Marta ran out of steam as the fight got tougher and lost the set to bow out of the 1,340,000 dollar event.

Sania crashes out in first round

Sania Mirza made a shocking first round exit from the Rogers Cup, losing to Italian qualifier Alberta Brianti 6-2, 1-6, 2-6, in the WTA 1,340,000 dollar event in Montreal.

The Indian lost her way after winning the first set against the fighting Italian, who was quick to take advantage of Sania's shortcomings and turn the match in her favour and advance into the second round of the tier I event.

Sania got off to a flying start as she ran away with the opening set. However, she was taken by surprise by Alberta in the second set, which turned the tide.

The Hyderabadi teen was once again let down by her poor serve, which allowed the Italian to stage a dramatic comeback. The world number 44 dropped serve and managed to win just a point before Alberta took the match into a third set.

A resurgent Alberta, having got her rhythm back with the second set win, dashed Sania's comeback hopes with a fluent game in the decider.

This was Sania's second successive first round exit after she lost her opening match in the Los Angeles Open last week.

The Indian will now team up with Poland's Marta Domachowska in the doubles competition and face the Italian-American pair of Tathiana Garbin and Meilen Tu today.

The Italian will meet No.14 Katarina Srebotnik from Slovenia, who ousted Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek 6-3, 7-5.

Nathalie Dechy also rallied to reach the second round, outlasting Israeli qualifier Tzipora Obziler 6-7(3-7), 6-2, 6-1.

The French veteran next faces No.15 seed Maria Kirilenko from Russia, who defeated Jelena Kostanic from Croatia 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

Mara Santangelo meanwhile rallied to eliminate Austrian Sybille Bammer 6-7(2-7), 6-4, 6-2 and set up a second-round match against No.7 seed Martina Hingis.

Tennis player Sania Mirza of India arrives for a fashion show during the second day at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in Montreal, Canada, August 13, 2006.

Sania Mirza to play a qualifier

Sania Mirza has been pitted against a qualifier in the women's singles first round of the USD 1340000 Rogers Cup tennis tournament at Montreal, Canada beginning here tomorrow.

The 44th ranked Indian, whose opponents is yet to be decided, will run into 36th ranked Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands, if advances to the second round of the Tier I WTA tournament.

In the qualifiers, Shikha Uberoi stretched Nichole Pratt of Australia to a three setter before crashing out in the first round.

Shikha lost to the 23 seeded Pratt 2-6 6-3 1-6 failing to qualify for the main draw of 32 players, which has Kim Clijsters as the top seed and Maria Sharapova as the second seed.

The US-based player represents India but her sister Neha, playing under the American flag, advanced to the second round after defeating second seeded Elena V Esnina of Russia 6-3 6-0 in her first round qualifying match.

She will now challenge Maria Fernandes Alves of Brazil to grab a place in the main draw of the prestigious tournament.

Alves was declared winner after her opponent Hana Sromova was retired when the Neha was leading 3-2.

Sania makes first round exit in Los Angeles

New Delhi, Aug. 9 (PTI): Sania Mirza charged up late against Jelena Jankovic but was forced out in straight sets in the singles first round of the $ 600,000 JP Morgan Chase Open tennis tournement at Los Angeles.

Sania, who threw away the first set, stretched the second set into a tie-breaker but the world number 28th clinched the match 6-2 7-6 (7/3) in one hour and 23 minutes yesterday.

The 44th ranked Indian, who struggled to hold her serves in the first set, tried to make a comeback in the match by exchanging two break points in the second.

The experienced Jankovic put paid to her plans by dragging the match into the tie-breaker, where she sealed the matter without much effort.

Sania's challenge in the doubles had already ended with her South African partner Liezel Huber and she losing to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Maria Kirilenko of Russia in the first round.

Sania's game has been understood by rivals: Piperno

Mumbai, Aug 9. (PTI): Former India Davis Cup player Enrico Piperno today said Sania Mirza's game has been understood by her rivals after one year on the circuit and the Hyderabad tennis sensation needed to evolve new plans to continue her progress in the women's game at the international level.

"Sania Mirza is a very confident player, which I realised four years ago at Busan Asian Games itself when she was unfazed before taking on her rival Janet Lee, who was 55th in world rankings as compared to Sania at well beyond 600," said the Indian women's Fed Cup coach.

"I feel she has the potential to climb into the top 20, but as has been pointed out by (former India captain) Vijay Amritraj she has chinks in her armour, one of which is her instinctive style of play, like Leander Paes, that has been understood by her rivals and their coaches," Piperno said at a sports seminar here.

Praising the power generated by the Hyderabad lass on her strong suit, forehand, Piperno also pointed out the fact that she needed to improve her serve and become quicker on the court in order to face stronger rivals across the net.

"It was seen in the Fed Cup tie against Australia (the qualifiers for the World group) in the crucial deciding clash when her rival attacked her backhand constantly and Sania could not run around and hit forehands as she would have wanted," Piperno noted at the function organised by the Sports Journalists' Federation of India (SJFI).

"One year on the circuit, and all the coaches have figured her (Sania) out. She has been found wanting (in some aspects). She now needs a senior coach to iron out her deficiencies," Piperno said.

Piperno, however, praised the Indian girl who became the first from the country to win a WTA event in Hyderabad last year.

"Even as a 14-year-old she had tremendous confidence. I once stood across the net when she was very young to play volleys against her and that night my wrist felt sore.

"That was the kind of power she generated on her forehand. I told Mahesh Bhupathi one week later that she hits forehands, which were more powerful than his own and he was a bit upset.

"She is also a tremendous team member and during the Fed Cup tie, when she could not play because her ankle was strapped up, she was there right throught to cheer her teammates," Piperno said.

"I wish she makes it to the top ten and even goes on to win the Grand Slam events," he added.

Harping on men's tennis, Piperno noted that the advent of graphite rackets has changed the game and the Indian players, currently, are unable to match their stronger rivals because they were not physically as powerfully built or as fit as their opponents.

"The awakening has happened and youngsters in the tennis academies are nowadays made to undergo strong physical fitness regimen. The result would be known in four or five years from now," the Kolkata-based Piperno predicted.

Sania-Huber crash out

NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza, partnering South Africa's Liezel Huber, crashed out of doubles at the J P Morgan Chase Open women's tennis event in Los Angeles after a first round loss to Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Russia's Maria Kirilenko in straight sets on Tuesday.
Sania and Huber lost 7-6 (2) 6-2 to the wild card entrants of the USD 600,000 Tier II event on the WTA Tour.

The 19-year old Indian had a enjoyed series of good results in doubles recently that included a final appearance in Cincinnati Open and also made it to the quarterfinal of Acura Classic last week.

Sania will take on Jelena Jankovic, World no. 29, of Serbia and Montenegro in the singles first round later on Tuesday.

Sania steady at 44 in WTA rankings

The third round exit at the Acura Classic tournament last week in San Diego did not affect Sania Mirza as the Indian tennis ace remained steady at 44th spot in the latest WTA rankings.

Fourth-ranked Asian Sania, who lost to world No 6 Elena Dementieva in Acura Classic, has 467 points off 23 tour matches.

Sania, who partnered with Shenay Perry of the US to make it to the quarterfinals in the doubles event of the tournament, dropped one place to be at 32nd in the doubles rankings.The Hyderabadi girl (971 points from 19 tours) was overtaken by Argentina's Paula Suarez (972 points).

Shikha Uberoi, the next best Indian in WTA circuit, experienced a sharp fall of 13 places to be at 187.

Among men, Indian ace Leander Paes (2505 points) clung on to the 14th spot in the ATP doubles rankings while his former partner Mahesh Bhupathi (1607 points) dropped two places to be at 24th.

Sania has technical flaws but can crack top 10: Amritraj

Sania Mirza needs to correct some technical flaws in her game but the Hyderabadi girl had it in her to crack the top ten in women's rankings, India's tennis legend Vijay Amritraj said today.

"Sania needs to work on some technical aspects of her game to get even better," Amritraj suggested.

He said the 19-year-old knew where she had to get better to take the next big step.

"Sania knows it, her coaches know it and they are working on it," the former tennis player said.

Amritraj was talking informally with reporters here on the sidelines of the launch of the second Delhi Half Marathon to be organised on October 15.

He said the teenager, currently ranked 44th in the world, had the potential to climb much higher on the charts.

"I firmly believe that she can enter the top 10 in women's tennis. She has the game, has time on her side and most importantly, has a strong mind," Amritraj said.

He said it was important that Sania was not put under excess pressure by the Indian media and the public.

"She is doing very well for herself and the only people who can bring her down are us." The former Davis Cup captain said the key for Sania was to become the best tennis player she could possibly be.

"Roger Federer does not think about being the best player in the world. Rather he thinks how he can be the best that he can be and how to keep improving. That is all you can ask of a player," Amritraj said.

Amritraj was not too perturbed about Sania's inconsistent results this year and said it was part of the game.

"Ups and downs are part of the game. She had a wonderful year last year and it is difficult to deliver such results year after year.

"One is never satisfied and wants to improve constantly. Wins and losses will come as one plays more and more," Amritraj, once ranked as high as 16th in the world, said.

He lauded Sania for dealing with the pressure of being a top player in India.

"She has dealt very well with the expectations put on her and has learnt how to behave with the media.

There are other good players coming up like the Uberoi and the Bhambri sisters but Sania still held the torch, Amritraj said.

"If a decade ago, someone had said that we would have an Indian girl in the top 50 in women's tennis, an Indian driving a Formula One car, a world champion in chess and an Indian golfer on the USPGA Tour, most of us would have laughed," he said, "adding it shows how expectations in Indian sport have risen.

Tough draw for Sania

New Delhi: Sania Mirza was handed a tough draw having to face 16th seed Jelena Jankovic in the first round of the J.P. Morgan Chase Open in California.

Sania, currently ranked 44th, will have to pull off a surprise to get the better of the 29th-ranked Serbian in the $600,000 WTA Tier II event.

In case Sania overcomes Jankovic, she would face either Czech Lucie Safarova or Croatia's Jelena Kostanic in the second round.

Serena Williams has been awarded a wild card for the event and the local favourite meets Russian Maria Kirilenko in the first round. Maria Sharapova is the top seed for the tournament.

Meanwhile in doubles, Sania, for the second successive tournament, teams up with South African Liezel Huber and the duo would take on Serbian Ana Ivanovic and Maria Kirilenko in the first round.

Sania loses in doubles quarters

Sania Mirza and South African partner Liezel Huber crashed out of the doubles competition at the WTA Acura Classic after losing to German Anna-Lena Groenefeld and USA's Meghann Shaughnessy in the quarterfinal.

Sania and Liezel, seeded eighth at the event, went down in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 against the fourth seeded German-American pair.

Groenefeld and Shaughnessy will now face top seeds American Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur of Australia for a place in the final of the San Diego hardcourt tournament.

The victors, who had a bye in the first round and had an easy second round victory, kept up their form to wrap up the first set in convincing fashion.

However, Sania and Huber gave their more fancied opponents a tough run in the second set before faltering at the end.

Sania out of singles, enters doubles quarters at San Diego

Sania Mirza's singles campaign in the Acura Classic ended with a 2-6, 6-3, 3-6 loss to sixth seed Elena Dementieva but the Indian teen continued her good doubles form and, partnering South African Liezel Huber, entered the quarterfinals of the 1.3 million dollar WTA Tier I event at San Diego, California.

Sania and Huber got past the Russian-American duo of Anna Chakvetadze and Jill Craybas 7-5, 6-2 to move into the next round.

In her rain-delayed singles match Sania was off to a disastrous start in front of a packed Grandstand as Dementieva won the first five games of the opening set.The Indian gave her fans something to cheer about when she staged a comeback by breaking Dementieva and holding her own serve to make the score 5-2.

However, the mini-rally proved to be a flash in the pan as the fourth-seeded Russian held serve in the next game to win the set.

The next set saw an improved performance by the Indian as she broke Dementieva in the second game for a 2-0 lead. The Hyderabadi teen maintained her momentum and saved a break point in the 10th game courtesy an unforced error by the Russian.

Sania then hit a beautifully angled volley winner that bounced just out of the Russian's reach to save a second break point. The Indian then hit her second ace of the match to claim the second set.

In the third set, which saw five service breaks, Dementieva took a 5-3 lead by breaking Sania's serve at love in the eighth game.

Dementieva, who hit a total of 10 double faults, improved her serve in the decider to advance to the quarterfinals.

The world number six has now beaten Sania in all the three matches they have faced each other. Dementieva, who also ousted Sania from this year's Wimbledon, will meet fifth seed Swiss Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, in the doubles match eighth seeds Sania and Liezel were tested in the opening set but in the end proved to be too good for there unseeded rivals.

The Indo-African pair, who had to face a stiff challenge in the first set, were at their aggressive best in the second set and did not put a foot wrong on their way to clinching the match.

Sania and Liezel wil now take on the winners of the match between the German-American pair of Anna-lena Groenefeld and Meghann Shaughnessy and the US duo of Ashley Harkleroad and Vania King.

Sania breezes past Srebotnik

Sania Mirza upset 15th seed Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the second round of the Acura Classic in San Diego on Wednesday.

The Indian ace beat Srebotnik 6-3, 7-6 to set up a third round clash with Russia's Elena Dementieva. Fourth seeded Demetieva, who had beaten Sania's at the Wimbledon first round, took down American Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-2.

Defending champion Mary Pierce was made to struggle in her first competitive match for six months before progressing to the third round. The 31-year-old sixth seed, who has not played since February after tearing ligaments in her foot, edged past Austria's Sybille Bammer 6-1, 6-7, 7-6

Third seed Nadia Petrova was not so fortunate in her first match in over two months when she was upset 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 by fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze.

Top seed Kim Clijsters crushed Australia's Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-2 in the second round.

Pierce struggled with her form much of the day, throwing away three match points with forehand errors in the second set tiebreaker, which she lost 9-7.

But the two-times Grand Slam champion stood strong in the third set against the left-handed Austrian, mixing heavy blows from the baseline with occasional net rushes.

"I got a lot of tennis in," said Pierce. "Three sets, two tiebreakers, being ahead, being down. It's a good start. The most important thing is I know I can play without hurting myself. I feel like there's not much missing from my game."

Pierce reached two Grand Slam finals last year at the French and US Opens and, despite her injury, said she still has some major goals left.

"The only thing I haven't done is been ranked number one, made the final of Wimbledon or win it, and I don't have an Olympic medal," Pierce said. "Those are the three things I want."

Petrova injured her hip prior to Roland Garros and has not played since her first-round exit there to Japan's Akiko Morigami and looked rusty against the 19-year-old Chakvetadze.

"I felt absolutely out of it," said Petrova. "The ball was just flying by me. I also had a tough time deciding which shot I should choose.

"I didn't know whether to go crosscourt, down the line, where I should serve. She played okay, but if I played at my level, it would have been much different."

Chakvetadze will play another teenager, Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, who destroyed American qualifier Amy Frazier 6-3, 6-2.

Russia's Vera Zvonareva advanced when China's Peng Shuai retired with heat illness. Peng had won the first set 6-3 and was two points from winning the match in the tiebreaker before she lost the second set 7-6, (7-5) and then retired.

Zvonareva will now face second seed Maria Sharapova.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy, seeded 12, overcame American Jamea Jackson 6-2, 7-6 and will play eighth seed Martina Hingis.

It is the first time since the tournament began in 1984 there are no American women in the third round.

Lindsay Davenport and the Williams sisters withdrew before the event with injuries.

Sania upsets former world no. 11 at San Diego

Sania Mirza showed signs of her fine form with a straight-set victory over former world no. 11 Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round of the USD 1.3 million Acura Classic WTA Tour event in San Diego, California.

Sania, whose ranking has slipped to 44, posted a crisp 6-3 6-1 over Shaughnessy, who has four career titles to her credit, to sail into the second round of the US hard court event on Tuesday.

The 19-year old Indian next plays Katarina Srebotnik of Slovakia in the second round later today.

Sania drops two places to 44th in WTA rankings

A first round exit at Stanford pushed Sania Mirza down two places to 44th on the latest WTA Tour singles charts released on Monday.

A return to her favourite hardcourt surface did not give Sania's ranking the lift she desired as she continued her slide after losing two spots last week.

At Stanford, Sania was ousted by little known Russian Vasilisa Bardina in the first round. She had made it to the quarter-finals at the WTA meet in Mason, Ohio, in the previous week before losing to top seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

Her doubles ranking remained unchanged at No 31 despite the semi-finals effort at Stanford with American Bethanie Mattek.

Shikha Uberoi, who fell three places, is the next top-ranked Indian in singles at 174th spot. Her doubles ranking saw considerable improvement after a quarterfinal showing at Stanford and went up 17 places to 127th.

Shikha teamed up with Serbian Jelena Jankovic to reach the second round where they were grounded by Sania and Mattek.

On the men's side, Leander Paes held on to his 14th place in the ATP doubles chart while compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi improved a notch to 22nd.

Sania crashes out of doubles semifinals in Stanford Classic

Sania Mirza's good run in the doubles came to a crashing end with the Indian teen and her American partner Bethanie Mattek suffering a straight set defeat at the hands of fourth seeded Italian-Argentine duo of Maria Elena Camerin and Gisela Dulko

Sania Mirza's good run in the doubles came to a crashing end with the Indian teen and her American partner Bethanie Mattek suffering a straight set defeat at the hands of fourth seeded Italian-Argentine duo of Maria Elena Camerin and Gisela Dulko in the semifinals of the 600,000 dollar Stanford Classic.

The Camerin-Dulko pair quelled challenge from their Indo-American opponents and beat them 6-4, 6-3 to breeze into the finals.

Sania, earlier, had crashed out of the singles event in the first round. Sania and Bethanie were matching their rivals shot for shot but suddenly they lost momentum and the fight went in vain as Camerin and Dulko pocketed the first set, according to information received here today.

Occasional flashes notwithstanding, Sania and Bethanie looked but jaded in the second set. They needed to win it to force a decider but the sense of urgency was somehow lacking and they rather surprisingly seemed to have read the writing on the wall and gave up without a fight.

Sania has had a poor second full season in the WTA Tour but her doubles show has been quite satisfactory and the Hyderabadi rose to a career high 31 in WTA Rankings.

Sania Mirza Crashes Out Of Stanford Classic

New Delhi, India (AHN) - Sania Mirza was shown the way out of the Stanford Classic in the first round by little-known Russian Vasilisa Bardina. Sania crashed out in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 from the $60,000 WTA event.

Playing on the surface of her choice, 42-ranked Sania lacked consistency losing the first set without putting up much of a fight. Though she had made it to the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open last week, the dominant Bardina swept her out of the match.

Sania is teamed up with American Bethanie Mattek in doubles and will meet the Russian-Ukrainian pair - Alla Kudryavtseva and Tetiana Luzhanska - in the first round.

US-based Shikha Oberoi and Yelena Jankovic beat Slovak Daniela Hantuchova and her Japanese teammate Ai Sugiyama 6-3 6-4 to go into the second round of the doubles event.

Sania through to first quarterfinal of year, faces Schnyder

Sania Mirza set up a tough quarterfinal clash with top seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland after defeating Finland's Emma Laine 6-1 0-6 6-1 in the second round of the USD 175,000 Cincinnati WTA tennis here.

The match against Laine fluctuated wildly with the Indian breezing through the first set before suffering a slump in the second set which saw her losing it to love.

But the ninth seed got her act together in the decider and raced ahead to make her first quarterfinal of the year.

Sania was her usual inconsistent self, firing 27 winners compared to the 12 by her opponent in the first set but inexplicably losing her way in the second.

She was at her aggressive best in the third, hitting three aces and 29 winners to take it in an hour and a half.

She next faces Schnyder who beat American qualifier Abigail Spears 6-1 6-0 to make it to the last eight.

The Hyderabadi girl was handed a more favourable draw after third seeded Daniela Hantuchova withdrew from the tournament due to an injury.

In the doubles, India's Shikha Uberoi and her Canadian partner Maureen Drake lost 6-0 1-6 3-6 to top seeds Maria Elena Camerin of Italy and Argentine Gisela Dulko.

Sania is also through to the last eight in doubles where she will pair up with Marta Domachowska of Poland to take on Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan and China's Meng Yuan for a spot in the semifinals.

Mirza under a microscope in tennis, world

India's Sania Mirza (right) paired with Poland's Marta Domachowska in doubles competition at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open Monday.

MASON - The pressure of an entire nation is with Sania Mirza no matter where she travels these days. The Indian teen sensation was midway through her climb to superstardom in her country last year when the then-70th ranked player on the WTA Tour finished as a quarterfinalist at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open.

Her fourth round U.S. Open showing and subsequent career-high No. 31 ranking last fall only added to her list of firsts for an Indian female tennis player. It also solidified her role as one of the most popular athletes in her country - an athlete who feels support and scrutiny from Paris to London to Mason this year.

"I have them even at Cincinnati. I have a billion people watching my every step, living a tennis match with me," Mirza said. "It is amazing, in a way, that people care so much about just a tennis match, and it can make such a difference to their lives and their moods. But the support is great, and I think I take it to my benefit and need to say I should feel lucky that I have a billion fans every time I step on the court."

Mirza, 19, began play at the W&S Open Monday by teaming with Poland's Marta Domachowska to win a doubles match over Natalie Grandin and Milagros Sequera. She'll begin singles play today against American Alexandra Stevenson in a late-afternoon match at Center Court.

She enters the tournament ranked No. 40 in singles and a career-high No. 33 in doubles. She's seen significant doubles success this year, but some injuries and a couple "unlucky" draws in recent tournaments have kept her from duplicating the singles success she achieved in her first full year on the Tour, when she was 2005 Newcomer of the Year.

Mirza lost to 10th seed Anastasia Myskina in the first round of the French Open and seventh seed Elena Dementieva in the first round of Wimbledon. She avoided another tough first round match this week against fifth-seeded Jelena Jankovic when the draw was shuffled because of injury withdrawals.

"It's good we don't play in the first round," Mirza said with a laugh.

But a couple first-round exits haven't deterred Mirza's fan following or press coverage. She recently was featured in a three-page spread in ESPN The Magazine, detailing her rise to fame, which is also growing in the U.S.-based Indian community, she said.

"It's getting more and more by the day (in India) because I'm playing more and more tournaments and people are following tennis more," Mirza said. "I think people are just excited that there's another sports person besides a cricketer who is playing at the international level on a daily basis, not just a flash in the pan. ... A lot more people know about tennis in India. They are very excited, but with that comes a lot of pressure and expectations."

Aside from tennis, much has been made of Mirza's religious views. As a Muslim, she has drawn criticism throughout her rise to stardom from conservative Islamic groups about issues from her tennis T-shirts and shorts to her views on safe sex. Mirza approached those criticisms Monday with the same confidence with which she carries the weight of a nation.

"I'm really not worried about what people are saying because everyone is entitled to their own opinion," Mirza said. "I'm just here to play tennis, and five or six years from now, maybe I won't be there anymore, and then they'll all forget who Sania Mirza is. So we'll see."

Sania-Marta in second round

Sania Mirza and Marta Domachowska of Poland advanced to the second round with a comfortable victory over Natalie Grandin and Milagros Sequera in women's doubles at the USD 175,000 WTA Tour tennis event in Cincinnati, USA.

Second seeds Sania and Domachowska defeated Grandin of South Africa and Venuezuelan Sequera 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round on Monday.

The Indo-Polish pair will take on Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan and China's Meng Yuan in the second round.

Shikha Uberoi, the other Indian in the fray, is paired with Canada's Maureen Drake and the duo face top seeds Maria Elena Camerin of Italy and Gisela Dulko of Argentina in the first round.

Meanwhile, Sania is set to play lucky loser Alexandra Stevenson of the US in the singles first round later on Tuesday.

This is the first tournament for the 19-year-old Indian since the Wimbledon Grand Slam a week ago.

Sania to take on Jankovic in first round of Cincinnati Open

Sania Mirza was handed a tough draw and will take on fifth seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the first round of the 175,000 dollar Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open starting.

The Indian teen -- ranked 40th in the world -- will start her campaign tomorrow in the WTA tier III event, which will see the return of Wimbledon and US Open champion Serena Williams after a six-month injury lay-off.

Meanwhile, Neha Uberoi, representing USA along with sister Shikha, lost 2-6, 2-6 to Carly Gullickson in the first round of singles qualifiers.

Shikha, who got a walkover in the first round, will take on Abigail Spears in the next level later today.

In the other major matches of the main draw, Serena will face the tournament's second seed, Russian Anastasia Myskina.

Myskina, currently ranked 11th in the WTA rankings, has won 14 of her last 18 matches.

Sania yet to play her best: Bhupathi

Kolkata - Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza’s best play is still some two years away, Davis Cupper Mahesh Bhupathi said here Wednesday.

‘Not too much should be seen from her early exits (from the international tournaments she plays). She is falling far short of the kind of tennis she is capable of,’ Bhupati told reporters here while announcing Martina Hingis’ participation in the Sunfeast Open tennis championship here in September.

‘But she will improve. She is on an upward curve and in about three years time she will break into the top 10. She has that in her,’ Bhupati, a doubles specialist, maintained.

‘She will be at her prime when she is around 22,’ Mahesh said, whose Globosports company manages Mirza’s career.

Mirza has recently dropped to World No 40 on the WTA rankings after early exits from Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The Hyderabadi dazzler has shown an indifferent form even after brilliant starts and that has cost her a few spots over the last few months.

Is Akshay chasing after Sania Mirza?

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar is running after Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza.

Akshay was recently spotted in London attending various matches of the Wimbledon Championships. During one match, Andy Roddick versus Andrew Murray, Akshay also gave a live interview to the BBC. But one has to ask, what was Akshay doing at the tournament in the first place? Press speculation has suggested that he may have been accompanying young starlet Sania Mirza, India’s number one tennis player. Sania, currently ranked 40th in the ratings, went out of the championship in the first round. But, she hanged around London, and was spotted by various people at many London night-clubs. Akshay Kumar, who keeps away from clubs and pubs, was also spotted at these venues. However, a definitive sighting of both Akshay Kumar and Sania Mirza has not been reported.

Sania drops to 40th spot in WTA rankings

The first round loss at the Wimbledon tennis championships has pushed Sania Mirza, who was the lone Indian woman in the Grand Slam event, two places down to 40th in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday.

With 501.50 points, the Hyderabadi girl is the fourth highest ranked among the Asians who are headed by 19th ranked Ai Sugiyama of Japan and China's Na Li (22nd) and Jie Zheng (34th).

Sania, who made it into the second round of the prestigious tournament last year, fumbled at the first hurdle this time, losing to Russian Elena Dementieva -- who has climbed two steps to be ranked sixth.

Dementieva also had a hand in the 19-year old Indian's defeat in the doubles event.

Sania and Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands were knocked out by Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta of Italy in the second round but, that did not affect the Indian teenager's doubles ranking as she managed to hang onto her 33rd position.

New Wimbledon women's champion Amelie Mauresmo of France bolstered her top ranking by reaching to 3692 points, a healthy lead over Belgians second ranked Kim Clijsters (3377) and third-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne (3093).

Meanwhile, India's doubles specialist Leander Paes with 2505 points retained his ranking at the 14th spot.

Mahesh Bhupathi's ranking remained unchanged too as the Bangalorean maintained his 24th doubles ranking with 1755 points.

Sania to instil reading habit among youngsters in UK

London, July 09: India`s Sania Mirza is among a group of celebrity sportspersons taking part in a charity campaign aimed at encouraging reading habit among children.

The Indian has joined the likes of Venus Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Tim Henman, alongside cricketers, rugby players, footballers, wrestlers and a basketball star to discuss their favourite books for the national literary trust`s reading champions campaign.

The trust, involved in raising literacy standards for all age groups in the UK, is hoping children will be persuaded to get into the habit of reading for pleasure by their sporting role models.

Sania Mirza, Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis all enjoyed best-selling author Dan Brown`s thrillers "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons".

"We`re thrilled that such elite players value reading and have taken time to support this scheme," Katy Hamlin, manager of the Trust`S Study Support Centre said.

"Having reading role models is really important for young people and it`s so encouraging to know that our pupils may be motivated to pick up a new book and share the reading experience of a world-class tennis player."

Venus Williams said she liked "Charm School" by Susan Wiggs. "Reading is very important. I always have a book with me. It opens my mind, it strengthens my vocabulary, it's fun."

Neil McClelland, the trust`s director, said: "Sports stars can have a tremendous influence on people`s attitudes. By encouraging young people to view reading as a champion`s pastime, these players are helping to inspire young people to become readers."

Sania out of doubles at Wimbledon

Sania Mirza, pairing with Michaella Krajicek of the Netherland, bowed out of the women's doubles event after losing to Russia's Elena Dementieva and Flavia Pennetta of Italy in the second round on Monday.

The eighth seed pair of Dementieva, who caused Sania's exit in the singles as well, proved to be her nemesis once again as she along with Pennetta carved out a 6-4 6-2 win to advance to the third round.