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Sania Mirza reacts after missing a shot against Francesca Schiavone of Italy during their semi-final match at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka,western Japan, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.Schiavone won 6-2,6-1
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sania Mirza reacts after missing a shot
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Sania Mirza reacts after missing a shot against Francesca Schiavone of Italy during their semi-final match at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka,western Japan, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.Schiavone won 6-2,6-1
Friday, October 16, 2009
Marion Bartoli of France returns to Sania Mirza
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Marion Bartoli of France returns to Sania Mirza of India during the quarterfinal match at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Bartoli retired from the match in the second set due to injury.
Sania Mirza of India returns a shot against Marion Bartol
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Sania Mirza of India returns a shot against Marion Bartoli of France during their quarter-final match at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Bartoli retired from the match in the second set due to injury.
Sania Mirza of India reacts during her quarter final match against Marion
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Sania Mirza of India reacts during her quarter final match against Marion Bartoli of France at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Bartoli retired from the match in the second set due to injury
Sania gets a hug
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Marion Bartoli of France hugs with Sania Mirza, left, of India after their quarter-final match at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Bartoli retired from the match in the second set due to her injury.
Marion Bartoli of France
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Marion Bartoli of France,Bartoli retired from the match in the second set due to injury.
Marion Bartoli of France holds her right arm
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Marion Bartoli of France holds her right arm during her quarter final match against Sania Mirza of India at the Japan Women's Open Tennis in Osaka, western Japan, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Bartoli retired from the match in the second set due to injury.
Sania Mirza in Japan Open semifinals
Sania Mirza today advanced to the Japan Open semifinals after her second-seeded French opponent Marion Bartoli retired midway through the quarterfinal due to a shoulder injury with the Indian leading 6-4 2-0 here.
With Bartoli hampered by a right shoulder injury, Sania controlled the proceedings in the hour-long match, although the Indian said she did not play all that well.
"You always like to win match point, so it was unfortunate but I felt I was playing well and was in control.
At the end of the day, a win is a win. The big thing for me is that I was outplaying a top 15 player, who was in good form," Sania said.
Sania will next play fourth seed Francesca Schiavone, who didn't even need to take the court as her seventh seeded rival Melinda Czink withdrew due to a right foot injury.
With Bartoli hampered by a right shoulder injury, Sania controlled the proceedings in the hour-long match, although the Indian said she did not play all that well.
"You always like to win match point, so it was unfortunate but I felt I was playing well and was in control.
At the end of the day, a win is a win. The big thing for me is that I was outplaying a top 15 player, who was in good form," Sania said.
Sania will next play fourth seed Francesca Schiavone, who didn't even need to take the court as her seventh seeded rival Melinda Czink withdrew due to a right foot injury.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sania Mirza and Vania King suffers shock exit
Second seed Sania Mirza and Vania King suffered a shock straight-set defeat at the hands of unseeded French pair of Julie Coin and Mathilde to crash out of the doubles event of the Japan Open in Osaka on Thursday.
The Indo-American pair lost lost 4-6, 2-6 in the quarter-final of the USD 220,000 WTA hard court event after battling for one hour and seven minutes.
Sania got 70 ranking points for making the last-eight pair stage and will share USD 1650 prize money with Vania.
To survive in the event, Sania will have to beat World number 13 and second seed Marion Bartoli of France in the singles competition on Friday.
Sania and Vania had plenty of chances against their rivals in the both the sets but could not cash in on.
They dropped serve twice in the first set and missed equal number of chances on their opponents' serve.
They saved five breakpoints and were successful in breaking the French pair once but that was not enough.
The second set too saw the second seeds missing many a chances as they squandered three breakpoints and dropped their own serve thrice.
Sania Mirza beats Viktoriya Kutuzova
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Sania Mirza became the first player to reach the quarter-finals of the Japan Open Wednesday, beating Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine in straight sets.
Sania Mirza sets date with Bartoli
Sania Mirza sailed into the Japan Open quarter finals after notching up a straight-set win over Ukraine’s Viktoriya Kutuzova here on Wednesday.
Sania defeated Kutuzova 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes to set up a tough quarter final against second-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.
Both Sania and Viktoriya served badly in the opening set, committing five double faults each.
But Sania managed to convert a crucial break point to go 1-0 up.
The Indian was more in control in the second set and she cut back on her service errors, saving three of the four break points she faced.
Viktoriya, however, continued to serve poorly and was broken thrice by the Indian, who was also helped by the three double faults the Ukrainian committed.
The Indian goes into the match against world No. 12 Bartoli with a 1-0 head-to-head record as the Hyderabadi had beaten her in the 2005 US Open.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sania Mirza vs Shahar Peer
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Sania Mirza sent out a strong signal of intent when she eliminated fifth seed Shahar Peer of Israel in the first round of the Japan Open women's tennis tournament on Monday.
Sania back in action with a win
Sania Mirza's camaraderie with frequent doubles partner Shahar Peer did not come in her way to overcoming the fifth seeded Israeli in three sets to reach the second round of the Japan Open tennis tournament here today.
With two players fully aware of each other's game, it was an intense one hour 52 minute tug-of-war, at the end of which Sania finished on the right side with a hard-earned 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
The Indian will now face Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine, who had won the first set 6-2 before her opponent Maria Kirilenko of Russia retired.
Sania broke her opponents twice but was broken herself thrice as the Indian lost the first set.
In the second set, however, Sania saved all three break points to draw parity and maintained her superiority in the decider to emerge winner.
With two players fully aware of each other's game, it was an intense one hour 52 minute tug-of-war, at the end of which Sania finished on the right side with a hard-earned 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
The Indian will now face Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine, who had won the first set 6-2 before her opponent Maria Kirilenko of Russia retired.
Sania broke her opponents twice but was broken herself thrice as the Indian lost the first set.
In the second set, however, Sania saved all three break points to draw parity and maintained her superiority in the decider to emerge winner.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Sania rise in singles rankings
In the WTA list, Sania Mirza rose by four rungs to 61 in singles but her doubles ranking was intact at 38.
Sania Mirza crashes out of China Open Qualifying
Sania Mirza's trip to China runs the risk of being an incredibly short one as she was knocked out of the first round of qualifying at the hands of Chinese wildcard recipient Chun-Mei Ji 3-6, 6-2, 1-6.
Ji, ranked more than 500 places below Mirza in the WTA Tour rankings at 580 dominated the match, creating 13 break opportunities on the Mirza serve, and taking 6 of these to wrap up a rather comfortable win in the end.
The final set was especially one sided as Ji dropped just 5 points on her own serve and allowed Mirza only 7 on her own to romp to an impressive win.
Mirza will compete in her first round match in the main draw of the women's doubles tomorrow. She is partnering with Romanian youngster Sorana Cirstea, and will take on the pair of Agnes Szavay and Roberta Vinci.Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sania makes main draw of Pan Pacific Open
Shrugging off her disappointing US Open campaign, Sania Mirza today qualified for the prestigious USD two million Pan Pacific Open after recording a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Victoriya Kutuzova of Russia here today.The seventh seed Indian was down by a set and trailing 1-3 in the second set at one stage but got her elements together to beat her rival in two hours and 20 minutes.
Sania had defeated local girl Rika Fujiwara of Japan 6-4, 6-0 yesterday.
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Sania had defeated local girl Rika Fujiwara of Japan 6-4, 6-0 yesterday.
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Sunday, September 06, 2009
Sania Mirza lose a thriller
Sania Mirza crashed out of the women’s doubles event after losing a thriller.Fourteenth seeds Sania and Francesca Schiavone of Italy made a smart recovery from a set down but failed to deliver at crucial points in the decider to lose 2-6, 6-1, 5-7 against the unseeded duo of Gisela Dulko of Argentina and Shahar Peer of Israel in a 125-minute second round match.
The opening set saw Dulko and Peer having the upper hand in service by firing three aces while Sania and Schiavone struggled with their serves as they dropped two of them to give away the first set 2-6 in 27 minutes.The Indo-Italian pair staged a fine recovery in the second set as they tightened their service game and engaged their rivals in long rallies which they won most of the time.
Sania and Schiavone broke Dulko and Peer twice in the second set while giving them no chance to do the same.
Both the pairs reserved their best for the decider which lasted 68 minutes. Sania and Schiavone smashed three aces but failed to win the crucial points.
With most of the games being stretched to deuces, breakpoints changed sides and Dulko and Peer converted more of them than their Indo-American opponents.
Dulko and Peer converted two of the nine breakpoints, while Sania and Schiavone won one out of seven.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
US Open : Sania Mirza's worst defeat
Sania Mirza offered no excuses following her 6-0 6-0 whitewash at the hands of 10th seed Flavia Pennetta at the US Open on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Mirza had no chance against the in-form Pennetta, the first Italian woman to reach the world's top 10.
"If she plays like that, she's going to win the Open," Mirza told reporters following the 50-minute, second-round blowout under sunny skies at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"I wasn't thinking, 'I'm playing such horrible tennis.' She had an answer for everything. That's something you just have to deal with and move on. Tomorrow's a new day."
While Pennetta has been riding a hot streak, winning the title in Los Angeles last month, world number 74 Mirza has been playing most of her tennis on the ITF circuit, a level below the main tour.
The first set was over in 22 minutes and though Mirza had a game point in the first and fifth games of the second, she could not get on the scoreboard.
Mirza said she could not recall ever getting blanked in a tennis match, even as a junior.
"I could have been more aggressive but then again she didn't give me a chance to do anything," said Mirza. "She was there from the word go. She was so aggressive."
The 27-year-old Pennetta, who lost only four games in her first-round match against Romania's Edina Gallovits, had only 10 unforced errors against Mirza.
Mirza said Pennetta always had a great backhand but her improved forehand has made her particularly dangerous.
"Suddenly you're thinking, 'What do I do now?' She's hitting from both the flanks and she's hitting really well," said the Mumbai-born Mirza. "She was all over the place.
"I told her in the locker room, 'If you play like this you're going to be number one in the world.'
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The 22-year-old Mirza had no chance against the in-form Pennetta, the first Italian woman to reach the world's top 10.
"If she plays like that, she's going to win the Open," Mirza told reporters following the 50-minute, second-round blowout under sunny skies at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
"I wasn't thinking, 'I'm playing such horrible tennis.' She had an answer for everything. That's something you just have to deal with and move on. Tomorrow's a new day."
While Pennetta has been riding a hot streak, winning the title in Los Angeles last month, world number 74 Mirza has been playing most of her tennis on the ITF circuit, a level below the main tour.
The first set was over in 22 minutes and though Mirza had a game point in the first and fifth games of the second, she could not get on the scoreboard.
Mirza said she could not recall ever getting blanked in a tennis match, even as a junior.
"I could have been more aggressive but then again she didn't give me a chance to do anything," said Mirza. "She was there from the word go. She was so aggressive."
The 27-year-old Pennetta, who lost only four games in her first-round match against Romania's Edina Gallovits, had only 10 unforced errors against Mirza.
Mirza said Pennetta always had a great backhand but her improved forehand has made her particularly dangerous.
"Suddenly you're thinking, 'What do I do now?' She's hitting from both the flanks and she's hitting really well," said the Mumbai-born Mirza. "She was all over the place.
"I told her in the locker room, 'If you play like this you're going to be number one in the world.'
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US OPEN : mixed doubles - Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi part ways
Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi will be playing with different partners in the mixed doubles event of the ongoing US Open tennis championships
The Australian Open mixed doubles champions reached the decision due to uncertainity over Sania's participation in the event because of her troubled wrist, which was operated upon last year.
Sania's father Imran Mirza told IANS that her wrist was troubling her again and she wanted to wait till she was sure of playing in the mixed doubles.
'Sania's wrist has been hurting on and off over the last few weeks and she was not sure whether she would play the mixed doubles event. She wanted to decide at the last moment after gauging the condition of her injury,' the elder Mirza said Thursday.
'Under the circumstances, we thought it would not be fair on Mahesh as he could end up missing out on the event if Sania was forced to back out at the last moment. Hence, it was mutually decided that he would finalise another partner for himself and in case Sania decided to play at the last moment, she would try to find someone who was still available.'
Bhupathi, who has seven Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, has paired up with the experienced American Liezel Huber and they have received top billing. The pair will open against American Vania King and Marcelo Melo of Brazil.
Sania has entered the event with 37-year old doubles specialist Daniel Nestor from Canada and the duo are are in the same half as Bhupathi-Huber. Sania and Nestor will meet Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan and Australian Ashley Fisher in the first round.
Sania's wrist injury had kept her out of action for the most part of 2008 that saw her career ranking drop from a high of 27.
The 74th-ranked Indian was blanked out of the US Open singles second round by Italian Flavia Pennetta Tuesday.Meanwhile, Leander Paes has teamed up with Cara Black of Zimbabwe and the duo are seeded second. They will play Switzerland's Patty Schnyder and South African Wesley Moodie in the first round.
Sania's father Imran Mirza told IANS that her wrist was troubling her again and she wanted to wait till she was sure of playing in the mixed doubles.
'Sania's wrist has been hurting on and off over the last few weeks and she was not sure whether she would play the mixed doubles event. She wanted to decide at the last moment after gauging the condition of her injury,' the elder Mirza said Thursday.
'Under the circumstances, we thought it would not be fair on Mahesh as he could end up missing out on the event if Sania was forced to back out at the last moment. Hence, it was mutually decided that he would finalise another partner for himself and in case Sania decided to play at the last moment, she would try to find someone who was still available.'
Bhupathi, who has seven Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, has paired up with the experienced American Liezel Huber and they have received top billing. The pair will open against American Vania King and Marcelo Melo of Brazil.
Sania has entered the event with 37-year old doubles specialist Daniel Nestor from Canada and the duo are are in the same half as Bhupathi-Huber. Sania and Nestor will meet Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan and Australian Ashley Fisher in the first round.
Sania's wrist injury had kept her out of action for the most part of 2008 that saw her career ranking drop from a high of 27.
The 74th-ranked Indian was blanked out of the US Open singles second round by Italian Flavia Pennetta Tuesday.Meanwhile, Leander Paes has teamed up with Cara Black of Zimbabwe and the duo are seeded second. They will play Switzerland's Patty Schnyder and South African Wesley Moodie in the first round.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Sania mirza puffs to second round
Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza notched up a rare double for India at the US Open by advancing to the second round of the season's last Grand Slam with contrasting opening wins at the Flushing Meadows. While Sania opened with a roller-coaster 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus in women's singles, qualifier Somdev got the better of Portugal's Frederico Gil 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the men's competition. The 162nd-ranked Somdev will take on German 23rd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
Also read: Sania Mirza enters second round at US Open | Somdev storms into second round at US Open
The 74th-ranked Sania also has a tough match at hand against old nemesis Italian 10th seed Flavia Pennetta.
"I'm really happy we have two players in the second round of a Grand Slam. Things are looking up," Sania said after her win.
Somdev, meanwhile, said the scoreline might show a straight-set win but he had to toil hard on the court.
"I really dug in there, didn't get tight. I competed well. That's what gets you through those tough ones - the way you compete," he said.
Somdev played a solid service game in the contest which lasted more than two hours, breaking his rival seven times.
"I don't want to jinx myself but I feel good about where I am. I've had a couple of quality wins. It gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can come out and compete with anyone. My game is up there with the rest," he said.
Sania, on the other hand, had to fight it out harder but was helped by her opponent's weak serve and unforced errors.
The Indian ace broke her rival seven times and served marginally better to come through in the match that lasted close to two hours.
"The toughest thing is to get that first win under your belt. Under the circumstances I'm just happy I can come through that match and get off to a good start. To me it has already been successful," she said.
On her nagging wrist problem, Sania said the injury that threatened her career at one point is finally healing.
"I'm happy with the way I'm playing. Physically I've never been fitter in terms of the way I'm moving on the court and playing in matches.
"I came up with the big shot that I needed to have. I have that big weapon when I need to use it," the 24-year-old said.
The recently-engaged star said she was ready for a grand comeback after spending a lot of time on the sidelines due to injuries.
"I'm at that stage where I'm ready to go up again and go into the new year with confidence. The major wrist problem is finally gone. It's about trying to stay as injury-free as possible," she said.
"You don't realise how much you miss playing tennis until you think you might not be able to play again. That made me really grow as a person. I appreciate it more being on a tennis court now," she added.
Also read: Sania Mirza enters second round at US Open | Somdev storms into second round at US Open
The 74th-ranked Sania also has a tough match at hand against old nemesis Italian 10th seed Flavia Pennetta.
"I'm really happy we have two players in the second round of a Grand Slam. Things are looking up," Sania said after her win.
Somdev, meanwhile, said the scoreline might show a straight-set win but he had to toil hard on the court.
"I really dug in there, didn't get tight. I competed well. That's what gets you through those tough ones - the way you compete," he said.
Somdev played a solid service game in the contest which lasted more than two hours, breaking his rival seven times.
"I don't want to jinx myself but I feel good about where I am. I've had a couple of quality wins. It gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can come out and compete with anyone. My game is up there with the rest," he said.
Sania, on the other hand, had to fight it out harder but was helped by her opponent's weak serve and unforced errors.
The Indian ace broke her rival seven times and served marginally better to come through in the match that lasted close to two hours.
"The toughest thing is to get that first win under your belt. Under the circumstances I'm just happy I can come through that match and get off to a good start. To me it has already been successful," she said.
On her nagging wrist problem, Sania said the injury that threatened her career at one point is finally healing.
"I'm happy with the way I'm playing. Physically I've never been fitter in terms of the way I'm moving on the court and playing in matches.
"I came up with the big shot that I needed to have. I have that big weapon when I need to use it," the 24-year-old said.
The recently-engaged star said she was ready for a grand comeback after spending a lot of time on the sidelines due to injuries.
"I'm at that stage where I'm ready to go up again and go into the new year with confidence. The major wrist problem is finally gone. It's about trying to stay as injury-free as possible," she said.
"You don't realise how much you miss playing tennis until you think you might not be able to play again. That made me really grow as a person. I appreciate it more being on a tennis court now," she added.
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