French Open 2007: Sania Mirza vs Alberta Brianti

Sania Mirza will take on Italian Alberta Brianti in her opening singles match of the French Open in Paris starting Sunday.

The Indian ace, who returned to action a fortnight ago from 2-1/2 months' lay-off following a knee injury, would run into seventh seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia if she manages to clear the first hurdle.Alberta Brianti is not a famous player but Sania lost to her once in the past. So, Sania will be keen to take revenge. They have only played once. I am just worried for the bad form in singles of Sania Mirza. I hope that she can find her rhythm in French Open 2007.

Wimbledon 2007: Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi

India's tennis sensation Sania Mirza is hoping to partner Mahesh Bhupathi in the mixed doubles event of Wimbledon as her doubles ranking is not helping her cause in the French Open, her father Irfan Mirza said today.
Sania now stands at 37 in the doubles while Bhupathi's rank is 25.

Her father told UNI that the pair may not be able to partner each other in the French Open as the combined ranking cut to get an entry in the mixed doubles category of the tournament is around 56.

Sania Mirza is now fit enough to take part in the coming French Open. However, it may take another few more weeks to get back in her prime form. I think Sania has a great potential to increase her ranking and get more success in the upcoming grand slam tournaments.

Sania, Chan falter at Istanbul final

Sania Mirza and her Taiwanese partner Yung-Jan Chan have lost in the final of the Istanbul Cup in Turkey.

The top seeds lost 1-6, 3-6 to an unseeded polish pair.

The defeat crushed Sania's hopes of back-to-back WTA doubles titles after her 4th doubles win at the Morocco Open last week.

This was Sania's last tournament before the French Open that starts Sunday.

Sania-Chan in Istanbul Cup final

Sania Mirza is eyeing her second WTA doubles tennis title in as many weeks after advancing to the final of US $200,000 Istanbul Cup in Istanbul on Friday.

The Indian ace and her new partner Yung-Jan Chan of Taipei overcame stiff resistance from Mervana Jugic-Salkic of Bosnia and Italy's Romina Oprandi before winning their semi-final match 6-7 (3/7), 6-0, 10-5.

Sania and Yung-Jan were leading 5-1 in the opening set after breaking their opponents in the first game of the match but squandered the advantage and allowed Mervana and Romina to level scores at 5-5 and win the set via the tie-breaker.

But it was a completely different story in the second set, which top seeded Sania and Yung-Jan dominated to take the match into the Super tie-breaker, which they won to clinch the match.

Sania won her fourth WTA doubles title at the Morocco Open at Fes, Morocco, partnering Vania King of the United States last week. She lost in the first round of the singles event in Istanbul to Meghann Shaughnessy

Sania to take on Alberta Brianti in French Open 1st round

Sania Mirza will take on Italian Alberta Brianti in her opening singles match of the French Open in Paris starting Sunday.

The Indian ace, who returned to action a fortnight ago from 2-1/2 months' lay-off following a knee injury, would run into seventh seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia if she manages to clear the first hurdle.

The 20-year-old Hyderabadi girl is in the third quarter of the draw which also features Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova as the third seed, Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 12th, and former champion Anastasia Myskina.

Sania would be aiming to erase the memories of a heartbreaking loss to Brianti last year on the WTA Tour, the only time the duo has faced each other so far.

Since her reurn from injury layoff, Sania has been struggling with her singles form and made first round exits from the two WTA events she played after returning to court.

However, the Hyderabadi player has been in excellent doubles form, winning the Morocco Open and reaching the final of the ongoing Istanbul Cup.

Sania would be guided by reputed Spanish coach Gabriel Urpi during the Grand Slam fortnight at Roland Garros.

Urpi, a former ATP Tour player, worked with former women's singles champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and currently tied up with WTA players Flavia Pannetta and Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Meanwhile, the Indian fans would have to wait for a while to see Sania pair up with Mahesh Bhupathi on the Grand Slam stage.

The combined doubles ranking of the two players -- Sania is currently ranked 37th and Bhupathi 23rd -- is unlikely to get them into the main draw of the mixed doubles for which the cut-off is expected to be around 56.

Spanish coach for Sania

New Delhi: Sania Mirza has roped in reputed Spanish coach Gabriel Urpi to help in her campaign at the French Open starting on Sunday.

This is a temporary arrangement as Sania will be guided by Urpi only during the Grand Slam fortnight. Urpi, a former ATP Tour player, has worked with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and is currently tied up with Flavia Pannetta and Virginia Ruano Pascual.

The last time Sania sought guidance from a renowned coach was from the legendary Tony Roche before the start of 2006 season.

Meanwhile, the Indian fans will have to wait for a while to see Sania pair up with Mahesh Bhupathi on the Grand Slam stage. The combined doubles ranking of the two players — Sania is currently ranked 37th and Bhupathi 23rd — is unlikely to get them into the main draw of the mixed doubles for which the cut-off is expected to be around 56.

“But they definitely hope to play together in Wimbledon,” Sania’s father Imran said.

In the doubles at Roland Garros, Sania will partner Eva Birnerova of Russia.

Eva will be the 20-year-old Indian’s third partner in as many tournaments since she returned to the courts after a two-and-half-month-long lay-off following a knee injury.

Sania's feet of clay face stern test

IT'S a fact that Sania Mirza's greatest test of the season is ahead - the clay season of the WTA Tour. While her doubles record reads an impressive 14-5 W/L, that includes being in two finals, and the recent title at Morocco, singles have been a nightmare.

If just two singles wins from eight matches is any proof of her struggle, the other interesting statistic is the fact that Sania has dropped out of the Top 50 two times during the clay season. The worrying factor is, however, the struggle she's had to regain her elite status.

While August 27, 2006 was the day when Saina dropped to 54 - a rank that took over five months to shirk off, Monday saw her drop out of the top fifty again after managing to stay put there for 111 days.

With an injury to her right knee to be blamed for the dip in her ranking over the past three months,today, on the eve of her first match at the Istanbul Open, she is ranked 52 and the question that lurks is how fast she would manage to get back among the elite.

Seeded No 8 at Istanbul, Sania has a tough opener against world No 66 Meghan Shaughnessy of the United States, who, compared to Sania has a decent record on all surfaces.

Their Round One meeting on the clay courts of Istanbul on Tuesday will be a first. At Roland Garros the American has a 8-8 W-L, which, together with Sania's injury tilts the balance in Meghan's favour.

Having earned considerable success at Istanbul last year by finishing runners-up in the doubles event with Australia's Alicia Molik, the recent Morocco WTA success would surely have boosted Sania's confidence.

Seeded top for the doubles event, Sania and partner Yung-Jan Chan (Chinese Taipei) run into Romanians Sorana Cirstea/ Agnes Szatmari.

At the moment, clay may be good for Sania's knees more than the hard courts, but one thing that she would have on her mind is to jerk the rust off, for only wins would help her back to where she was. Sania FILE Important Dates- August 8, 2005: Cracked Top-50 - reached No 48 October 10, 2005: Career-high No 31 August 27, 2006: Slipped out of Top 50 - from No 44 to 54 January 29, 2007: Cracked Top-50 again - reached No 48, Reached career-high in doubles No 23 May 21, 2007: slipped out of Top-50.

Sania loses

New Delhi: For the second week in a row since returning from knee injury, Sania Mirza failed to clear the opening round in a WTA Tour event, going down tamely to Meghann Shaughnessy in the $200,000 Istanbul Cup tennis tournament on Tuesday.

The 52nd-ranked Indian lost 4-6, 3-6 in just over one hour and 20 minutes.

Sania-Vania win doubles title

Sania Mirza won her first WTA title this year by winning the Morocco Open Doubles with American partner Vania King.

The Top seeded pair beat second seeds Romania's Andreea Ehritt-Vanc and Anastassia Rodianova of Russia 6-1, 6-2 in the doubles final.

Sania, who was out with knee injury for about three months, more than made up for her singles ouster of the Morocco Open. This was Sania's fourth career title and her first outside India.

Sania drops to No. 52

New Delhi: Sania Mirza’s Morocco Open doubles triumph saw her doubles ranking improve to No. 37 on the WTA list issued on Monday.

The first round exit in the singles event , however, made her drop one place to No. 52 on the singles list. She has 503 ranking points.

The 20-year-old, back after a two-and-a-half-month injury lay-off, teamed up with American Vania King to clinch the doubles title in Fes on Saturday. The win pushed her up four places with 1027 points.

On the men’s side, Leander Paes stayed at No. 6 on the individual doubles list with 3940 points. Mahesh Bhupathi moved up two places to 23rd with 1670 points.

In the Champions Race, Paes and his Czech partner, Martin Damm, moved down one spot to No. 3 with 345 points.

Sania-Chan through to doubles quarters in Istanbul

Top seeds Sania Mirza and her Taiwanese partner Yung-Jan Chan sailed into the quarterfinals of the $200,000 Istanbul Cup with an easy 6-3, 6-1 win over the Romanian pair of Sorana Cirstea and Agnes Szatmari in Turkey on Tuesday.

Sania and Yung-Jan will take on the Greco-German duo of Anna Polunina and Stella Menna in the last eight stage of the Tier III WTA Tour event.

The top seeds overcame a patchy start to storm past their unseeded rivals for a comfortable victory.

Sania and Yung-Jan were broken twice in the first set but more than made up for that with four breaks of their own in the opening set.

The Indo-Taiwanese combination put up an even better display in the next set and held their serve besides breaking the Romanians twice to clinch the match.

Earlier, Sania bowed out of the singles competition in the first round itself, losing to American Meghann Saughnessy.
The Indian ace, who is coming back after a 2-1/2 month-long injury layoff, was seeded eighth in the singles draw.

Sania gets top ranking in doubles event

New Delhi: Fresh from her success in the Morocco Open, Sania Mirza has been top seeded in the doubles competition of the US$ 200,000 WTA Istanbul Cup in Turkey.


The Indian ace, who clinched the Morocco doubles title with American Vania King, will be teaming up with Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan in the event.

The 20-year-old has been seeded eighth in the singles and will take on American Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round.

In the doubles event, Sania and Yung-Jan will start their campaign against the Romanian pair of Sorana Cirstea and Agnes Szatmari.

The tier III event features some of the biggest names in the WTA circuit like US Open champion Maria Sharapova of Russia, American Venus Williams and Swiss Patty Schnyder.

Sharapova has already got a walkover to the second round.

Sania drops to 47th in WTA rankings

New Delhi, March 19: The four-week layoff due to a knee injury has seen Sania Mirza drop two spots to 47th in the latest WTA rankings today.

Sania, who is under rehabillitaion to recuperate from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, has 504 ranking points.

The Indian ace picked up the injury during the Doha Open two weeks ago.

The lay off has also led to a drop in Sania's doubles rankings and the 20-year-old has slipped five places to 31st in the list with 1074 ranking points.

Among other Indians in the singles' list, the US-based Shikha Uberoi (107.75) is the next highest placed at 240th spot, which is an improvement of two rungs.

Veteran Rushmi Chakravarthi remained steady at 394th with 46.25 points, while Ankita Bhambri (39) was up four spots to 441st this week.

Meanwhile, Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne (3645) reclaimed the top spot in the rankings, overtaking Russia's Maria Sharapova (3564).

Sharapova's compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova (2947) completes the top three.

In the ATP rankings, estranged partners Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi held on to their 12th and 21st position respectively.

Paes, however, is expected a big jump as he along with partner Czech Republic Martin Damm claimed their second ATP title this season winning the doubles crown at the pacific life open yesterday. Damm is currently placed 10th.

Photo : Sania Mirza on a wheel chair

Sania Mirza sits on a wheel chair as she leaves a hospital in Hyderabad March 4, 2007. Sania was ruled out of action for at least four weeks on Saturday after undergoing surgery on her right knee

Sania out of action for at least a few weeks

Hyderabad, March. 2: Sania Mirza has been ruled out of action for at least a few weeks with medical reports today indicating "a possible Anterior Cruciate Ligament" injury to her right knee.

The 20-year old Indian, who sustained a hyper-extension of the knee during her first round match in the Qatar Open in Doha earlier this week, had laxity of the ACL, the doctor treating her at a local hospital said.

"The MRI scan of the knee joint indicates a possible ACL injury," Dr. Hariprasad of Apollo Hospitals here said.

"Sania was complaining of extreme pain in the knee with swelling and on examination (it was found that) she had laxity of Anterior Cruciate ligament.

"As the joint is painful, she will be examined under anaesthesia and then further course of action will be decided."

The full extent of the injury and the recovery time would be known only after a complete examination, Hariprasad said.

An athlete who has suffered a simple ACL injury could undergo physiotherapy and return to action within a few weeks.

But in case of an ACL with a tear, it could take anywhere between three and six months, a medical expert said.

INTERVIEW: SANIA MIRZA

`Doubles helped improve my game'

Sania Mirza's current form is encouraging. By her own admission she is playing her best tennis now. And the turning point of her success this season has been Doha. "I started winning a lot more after that," she says in a chat with Nandita Sridhar.

Sania Mirza of 2007 is a mixture of the confident teenager who stormed the scene two seasons ago and the one who looks to have learnt from last year's losses and disappointments.

The 20-year-old's season so far has been encouraging, with two semifinal and one quarterfinal appearances. But it's too early in the season to read anything much in them.

Speaking to Sportstar, Sania shed light on her game, fitness, Indian tennis, and other issues.

Excerpts:

Question: A lot of people have a lot of things to say about your current form. How do you feel about your game now? Would you say that Doha was the turning point of your success this season?

Answer: I'm playing my best tennis now, and I always give 100 percent every time I step on the court. There are things to work on, of course, like the serve. Doha was the turning point in the sense that I started winning a lot more after that. I played great there and I'm very happy about it. It gave me a lot of confidence when I beat the World No. 22 then.

How fit are you now when compared to last year?

I have a trainer (Heath Matthews) and I've been training really hard and punishing myself. What has helped me the most is that I haven't had any injuries in the last six months.

Do you have any plans to appoint a full-time travelling coach? Do you think you need one now?

I'm not doing too badly without a full-time travelling coach. I might get one, but I'm not in a hurry.

How has playing doubles helped your game?

I'm ranked No. 26 in the world in doubles now. I don't play doubles in all the tournaments, but I chose to play here (Bangalore), so my fans could get to see more of me. Doubles has helped me a lot in improving my volleying and serving. It keeps my confidence levels high.

Do you have any specific goals at this stage of your career?

At this point, I don't. Right now, I'm just looking at taking one week at a time.

How does it feel to play at home?

It's a different experience, and it's a lot of fun. The pressure and expectations are there for anyone who plays at home and in front of thousands. The only difference with me is that I have to deal with a billion.

What are your thoughts on the future of tennis in the country?

I don't exactly know who the next top-50 or top-100 player is going to be, but we are going to have not just one or two, but quite a few. Few years ago, when I was playing under-10 and under-12 tournaments, we had draws of fours and fives. Now there are hundreds of girls. I think that slowly but surely we will see a lot more. When I started playing there was one coach, now there are 5000-odd people coaching. When I see kids come out and show their support, I realise how much the sport has grown here.

Who are the other Indian girls who can make it to the next level?

There are a lot of talented girls, like Tara (Iyer) for example. There are girls I've grown up with, like Ankita (Bhambri) and Isha (Lakhani). It's just a question of getting the right opportunities and the right breaks.

Do we have the necessary infrastructure to support the growth of the game in the country?

It's no secret that the infrastructure is not the best in India, but it's slowly getting there. We now have some really good stadiums and things are looking good for the future. Hyderabad, for example, has one of the best stadiums.

India now hosts two WTA events, which was unthinkable earlier. Having taken part in them for the last couple of years, how have they been?

The first tournament in any country will not really be the best, but over the last three years things have got better. Sony Ericsson's involvement in women's tennis is helping a lot, and they're doing a lot to promote women's tennis across the globe. Events like these (Sony Ericsson International) in India will be a boost to the game in the country.

What sort of feedback have you received from other players on the tournaments here?

It's been good. Serena contemplated coming here and almost did. Martina Navratilova came here. A lot more girls now want to play in India.

How do you think women's tennis has changed over the years?

Earlier, the idea was that femininity and sport never go together. Things have changed a lot now, and women's tennis has so much going for it, like the depth and the glamour.

Women's tennis is now being significantly marketed for its glamour. Is it healthy for the sport?

It's a very personal thing and depends on how you want to project yourself. The top priority for most is winning. My focus is always on doing well on the court, and looking good or ugly at that point is the last thing on my mind. But it's fine to have some fun. The Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (March), for example, is going to project both the tennis and the glamour. We're going to see some great tennis and it's going to be one big party for the players. We all love dressing up, and being a tennis player doesn't mean punishing yourself all the time.

As a kid who wanted to make it big in tennis, who was your role model then, and who is it now?

Steffi Graf has always been my role model. From the current crop, we have to salute Serena Williams. She's proved the whole world wrong, and showed us that anything is possible.

What's your take on the issue of equal prize money?

It's not like we're dying or going bankrupt because we're getting lesser than the men, but we definitely deserve it, because we're working equally hard. It's a question of equal rights.

Injured Sania pulls out of Qatar Open

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on Wednesday pulled out of the Qatar Open WTA tennis tournament due to knee injury.

Sania announced her decision just before her second round singles match to be played in front of the capacity crowd on the centre court against Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko in the USD 1.34 million event.

The 20-year-old had sustained the injury during her win against Italy's Romina Oprandi in the opening round on Monday.

Sania had withdrawn from the doubles event yesterday.

She will now return to her home town Hyderabad, where she will undergo a scan on Thursday.

The 46-ranked is next scheduled to play in the Indian Wells tournament.

Photo:Sania Mirza returns the ball to Romina Oprandi from Italy during the Qatar Open

Sania Mirza returns the ball to Romina Oprandi from Italy during the Qatar Open tennis tournament in Doha

Photo:Sania Mirza reacts to a lost point

Sania Mirza reacts to a lost point against Romina Oprandi from Italy during their Qatar Open tennis tournament match in Doha February 26, 2007

Crowd favourite Mirza advances in Doha

DOHA (AFP) - Indian heart-throb Sania Mirza stormed into the second round of the 1.34 million dollar Qatar Open with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Italian Romina Oprandi on Monday.
Backed by a strong crowd of expatriate Indians in Qatar, Mirza, who was trailing 3-0 in the second set, won six games in a row to complete her second victory over Oprandi this year after her triumph last month in Australia.

Both players carried niggling knee injuries and Mirza had to get on-court treatment for several minutes, but that didn't stop her from unleashing some sizzling shots that left the Italian rooted on the court on several occasions.

Mirza, who was the toast of the crowd during the Asian Games last December, had to come from behind in the first set too, storming from 3-1 down to take a 4-3 lead and holding serve to consolidate her position further.

After Oprandi won the next game, the Indian closed out the set with ease using her booming forehand to good effect.

The Qatar Tennis Federation acknoledged Mirza's tremendous crowd-pulling prowess, by opening the tournament with her match on centre court and the response from the public more than justified their decision.

"I am quite happy with the way I played although I made some mistakes on big points," Mirza said referring to some easy volleys she missed at the net.

"I am also quite happy with the way I was received by the Indians living here. it's always good to have some support."

Mirza said she will be trying to play the tournament in a relaxed manner after all the hype during the Asian Games.

"The Asiad was different because I was expected to win some medals, but that is not the case here. Here there are so many good players that I just want to go out there and do my best."

Meanwhile, two other Italians avoided Oprandi's fate by advancing into the second round. Francesca Schiavone, the eighth seed here, defeated Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 6-4, while Mara Santangelo ousted Germany's Sandra Kloesel 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).