ByLinus FernandesIt was a heady day in 2003, when Sania Mirza burst onto the stream of Indian sport consciousness, an awareness that if India were to ever have a world beater in an individual sport, it would not be a hirsute male, but a member of the weaker, fairer sex.
Sania Mirza erupted onto the scene like a long dormant volcano, heralding the birth of a new breed of Indian athletes, who not only excelled at their sport but were media savvy and clever enough to carve an image, a niche for themselves, in games other than cricket.
She was smart, she was intelligent, she was articulate, she was pretty, she was sexy, she was photogenic and she had attitude with a capital A. She carried off the anachronism of a nose ring with aplomb and style.
To top it all , she owned a killer forehand—the one that drew comparisons with her idol Steffi Graf —that was almost impossible to return when she dispatched the tennis ball with all the power and strength at her disposal. The forehand was flat and it was skiddy.
Sania Mirza had arrived on the stage of world tennis and Indian tennis would never be the same again. Or so we hoped.
Bouquets and Brickbats
We stood by her, we rooted for her, and we put up with all her shenanigans. We gathered around our television sets to cheer her every shot, her every return, her every serve.
She was the face of a modern India, a cosmopolitan India and most of all, she was a Muslim, a brave heart standing for progress contrasted against the conservatism and insularity of a minority community. She presented a brave new India; she had balls and she had gumption.
We craved learning what her T-shirts read; her sassy T-shirts hit the headlines as often as her brushes with the religious fanatics who chastised her for donning un-Islamic attire—mini-skirt and sleeveless vest—and being chummy with doubles partner Peer from the I of Israel. The evil I!
Some of her more interesting T-shirts needled "Well-behaved women rarely make history ," "I'm cute? No shit.," "Don't stand in my way," and "You can either agree with me, or be wrong."
This young tennis star, swimming in potential, was lapped up not just by the Indian media but by the international press as well. She appeared on the cover of Time magazine and was listed by the New Statesman as one among 10 youngsters who could change the world.
She happens to be the most searched Indian sportsperson on Google India ahead of Sachin Tendulkar, her appeal truly transcending notional, national boundaries.
She was hurt most when she was misquoted as endorsing pre-marital sex; a source of consternation for her in-the-know admirers as she came from a conservative Muslim background. Her choice of partners bears this out as she was first engaged to her cousin Sohrab Mirza but wed Shoaib Malik , a Pakistani cricketer . She has, of course, been linked to other sports stars and celebrities, the most notable being the dashing Yuvraj Singh, but then who believes the tabloids?
Tennis Career
Her singles career stats read 224-122 and she has one WTA title, the 2005 Hyderabad Open, and thirteen ITF titles in her singles kitty. She also enjoys playing doubles and has won eight WTA and four ITF tourneys. Her other sporting honors include a gold in mixed doubles, a silver in singles and a silver in team tennis all at the 2006 Doha Asian Games .
Her best singles performance in a Grand Slam has been a fourth round finish at the 2005 US Open.
The year 2007 was her finest one. She reached a career-high ranking of 27th. But over the years, her opponents have grown smarter; they wait and prey on her many errors. Her one-dimensional game was soon exposed; the mishits kept piling up as the rallies and matches grew longer.
Further, she was plagued by injuries, mostly to her wrist. Injuries that have dogged her more than any controversies.
She is not the fittest of players and she does seem to be carrying excess fat compared to the extremely fit and stronger players on the circuit. She is also just 5 ft. 8 inches, tall perhaps by Indian standards, but average compared to other players on the WTA tour. She, however, plays fearlessly and is not afraid to launch into her groundstrokes at the slightest opportunity.
Her finest hour, arguably, was the doubles championship she lifted at the Australian Open in 2009 in tandem with Mahesh Bhupathi. She is India’s foremost woman player ever and she cannot be blamed for not having an Indian tennis role model to emulate. She has blazed a path for Indian Eves and it is for them to take up the torch and surpass her, if they can.
A Second Coming?
Sania Mirza is not to be counted out yet. In her own words, she intends to give tennis a go for a couple of years following her recent marriage.
She has, just last week, had her best performance in recent times, reaching the final of the Aegon classic . That is not an achievement to be sneezed at, although the ITF and WTA tournaments are not on the same plane and Mirza was the top seed in the tournament. (Maria Sharapova too, on her recent return from injury, preferred to give the bigger tournaments a miss and participated in second-tier tournaments to regain her confidence and boost her points tally.)
Can Sania regain her lost glory? Can she arrest her slide?
Her current ranking is a dismal 142. Can she fulfill the promise she once displayed? Can she overcome her injuries and be the beacon for Indian women tennis players for some more years to come?
Or is she destined to follow the path of other Indian tennis players who have foregone any chances at personal glory and prefer their percentages in doubles? (If there is one thing I begrudge Leander and Mahesh, is that once they stumbled on the magic formula to lucre in doubles, it became an easy act to follow for the other tennis players from India.) Will Sania lose her way along the same route?
Only time will tell!
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/425635-sania-mirza-whither-goest-thou
As a dual citizen of France and Iran, 22-year-old enjoys playing in front of expats from two countries
Dubai : French player Aravane Rezai feels the need for more top tennis tournaments in this part of the world, if the sport is to make an impression on young minds here.
"It is very important that we have more tournaments as this will be one of the ... quicker ways in raising the profile of women's tennis in the region," Rezai told Gulf News after beating Austria's Sybille Bammer in three sets 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 on Monday.
"I know such big tournaments don't happen here all the time, but there is a need for similar events that will be evenly spread out during the year so that players have a better chance of knowing the place and its culture. Of course, this is not my decision but only a suggestion," Rezai stated.
Childhood stint
Though born and brought up in France, Rezai's parents migrated from neighbouring Iran.
She took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl. Rezai is currently sitting on a career-high ranking of No 21.
Though she competed for Iran at the Women's Islamic Games, winning the gold medal in 2001 and 2005, Rezai had to make the choice of representing her adopted country with a heavy heart.
"Yes, you can say that I have had the best of two worlds. But with all honesty, I love to play here because this is a Muslim country and I can identify with the place and its people and feel at home.
"Secondly, there are a lot of Iranians here and whenever I play I get support from the French and the Iranians," she explained. "This is one of the countries that I can relate to and share my feelings with and identify with. The people here understand my religion and culture and this is very close to my Iran. I live in France and have dual citizenship, but I was born in France, so I have to represent France rather than Iran," Rezai said.
Yesterday, she fought till the very end before going down in three sets 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 against sixth seed Jelena Jankovic in their second round encounter.
"Winning against top-ten players means I have the game.
"It's just the question of having the experience and that can happen only with time," shrugged the 22-year-old.
Source: http://gulfnews.com/sport/tennis/rezai-gets-support-from-many-fronts-1.584228
DINARA SAFINA: Well, you know, it’s still the beginning of the season, you know. Let’s say it was not an easy first‑round match. She’s a very good opponent. She plays very good.
I had some good moments and bad moments, but overall I’m happy I went through, and I’m pretty satisfied with everything.
Q. What pleased you most about the match?
DINARA SAFINA: I mean, it was a solid game by me. Just from this I can start to build up much more confidence and using more my shots.
So I think it was a very solid game from my side.
DINARA SAFINA: No, I was pretty confident because I spoke with my doctor back in ‑‑ he’s in Germany. He told me like for Australia Open for sure I’m going to be hundred percent. Was doubting the tournaments before.
But, you know, my recovery went pretty fast, so I was even ready for Sydney.
Q. When you left Doha at the end of the year, what were you thinking in general about your year and how it went?
DINARA SAFINA: At that moment I just wanted to heal my injuries fast as possible. You know, that was the only thing. You know, it was unfortunate. It was disappointing end of the season that you have to retire.
You do everything to get to the Masters, and then you cannot play because of the injury. So it was sad. But, you know, sometimes you cannot fight against the injury. So it was a good lesson that I have to be smarter and take much more care about myself.
But, you know, I just had a good rest, and I was much more motivated for practices.
Q. So in the off‑season when you were thinking about 2009 last year, what were your general thoughts? Were you happy about it? Do you think there were some missed opportunities?
DINARA SAFINA: Well, I can say only happy, you know. It was a great season. You know, I didn’t make a Grand Slam. But, you know, I still won a big tournaments. I was again in two finals.
So, you know, every year I’m doing better. So why I even have to be sad or something? I reach No. 1 in the world. Some people never reach this and they have to finish their career.
I did more than many people expected me to do, so I think it was a great season from my side.
Q. What do you think about the comeback of Justine Henin? You were the one who beat her, and now she’s come back.
DINARA SAFINA: I think it’s great for her that she’s back.
Q. And for women’s tennis?
DINARA SAFINA: I guess so.
Q. Sharapova said she thought this year would be maybe the most competitive in a long time because Kim comes back, Justine is back, some of the younger players are coming up, then all of you are in it. Do you agree?
DINARA SAFINA: I think so, yeah. It is like much more competition. It’s not anymore so easy if you are top 10 that you’re going to win a match 6‑Love, 6‑Love. Nobody going to tank to you anymore.
So they all ‑‑ the young ones, they all have no fear. They all deserve to beat you. So it’s getting not easy. But, you know, that’s why ‑‑ it’s a competitive sport, you know.
You have to push yourself and work on your weaknesses day to day. It’s not the sport where you’re the best, you just win by the name. No, you have to every day work.
Q. Would you say that you’re more motivated coming in here than you were last year? How hard is it to maintain the same level of motivation year after year?
DINARA SAFINA: Last year I was also motivated. I cannot say anything. Just I think at the end of the last year I was tired, exhausted, like I had no more fun on the court.
But now I feel like I’m back and I’m, like, enjoying every moment on the court. That was missing a little bit last year. Last year I was every time like pushing myself, like, Okay, I have to do it. But now I do it with a much more desire.
Q. So how is it to be out here now that your brother is no longer on tour?
DINARA SAFINA: Weird. But from other hand, you know, it had to ended up. So somehow I was prepared. I knew it was not going to be forever.
And I still get the same support, so it’s good (smiling).
Source: Australian Open, http://wtawomenstennis.co.cc/7445/australian-open-dinara-safina-interview-january-18th-2010/
