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Thursday, 25 June 2009 |
 Sania Mirza hopes that within a few years she won't be the only Indian tennis star battling at the highest level.
Mirza said there was finally plenty of talent beginning to come through the ranks as interest in the sport picks up.
And though the 22-year-old does not feel lonely on the tour, she is aware of the pressure on her shoulders as India's only top-100 player.
"I hope there's a lot more tennis players, especially women, come up from India," she said.
"We seem to have a lot of talent and with the right kind of backing I hope that we can have instead of just one player playing out there, about five or six.
"One of the reasons is people aren't very tennis aware in the country," she told here.
"Cricket is more like the sport that people like to play and the masses connect with, but it's getting better. I don't know when but hopefully in a few years it will get better and we will have more than one player on the tour.
"At least there's a lot of interest and that's a start. I remember when we used to play under-10s we were struggling to have eight people fill the draw and now they have draws of 32 and 64 for under 10s and 12s which I think is a big step."
Mirza's face is plastered on posters and billboards throughout India and she recognises that she is carrying the weight of national expectation.
"There's always pressure, especially in a country like India where there's so many people," she said. |
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Tuesday, 23 June 2009 |
 India's Sania Mirza faces a triple challenge to reach the third round at Wimbledon: knock out a seed, beat one of her best mates -- and make sure she's got enough clothes.
Mirza faces Romanian number 28 seed Sorana Cirstea in the second round -- just as soon as the pair work out whose kit is whose.
French Open quarter-finalist Cirstea had to sort out her friend with some spare clothes before Mirza beat Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.
"We are really good friends. We're one of those very few who actually stay in touch even when we're not on the tour," Mirza told here.
"We were joking about it just before. I didn't have any clothes and said 'can you please give me some clothes to wear'.
"She said 'yes, I'll give it to you'. And I said 'yes, but if you win and I win, I play you, I'll need clothes as well!'. And she said 'I'll still give it to you!'.
Sania Mirza Photo Gallery
Thankfully the pair have now sorted out enough outfits to see them both through Wednesday's encounter.
"We both have enough kit now. I don't need to borrow stuff from her now!" world number 85 Mirza said.
But joking aside, there will be no love lost when the pair clash on court.
"We're both going to try our best, obviously. You have to make a conscious effort to put a line because you are friends," the 22-year-old said, looking forward to the match.
"When you go on court you are just rivals and opponents and when you go off court you're friends again.
"But we're both professionals and we know where to draw the line. May the best player win."
Though the pair are firm friends, they have never faced each other in a competitive match.
Mirza did not have the chance to check out Cirstea's first round match as they were playing simultaneously on adjacent courts. |
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Thursday, 18 June 2009 |
 On the back of her semi-final run at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham Sania Mirza(Photos ) has jumped 20 places in the WTA singles rankings.
Mirza, who has spent the better part of this year languishing near the 100 mark, and has needed to go through qualifying rounds and apply for wildcard spots for entry into key tournaments might just have turned the corner, climbing back up to 78 in the rankings.
Also making her way up the ranking charts is Maria Sharapova. The former Wimbledon champion who returned to action last month following a 9-month injury lay-off is back up to no. 59 in the world. |
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Monday, 15 June 2009 |
 In professional sport the toughest miles are rarely recorded. Never applauded. Over a period of time, they become personal milestones, the place where the will scored over a whim.
On Saturday, Sania Mirza lost both her semi-final matches in the AEGON Classic in Birmingham. In the singles, the 22-year-old went down to the 13th seed Magdalena Rybarikova in a tough three-setter. A few hours later, Sania and Chia-Jung Chuang of Taipei took the exit in the doubles competition too.
After spending nearly five hours on court, she had her dad (Imran) drive her almost five hours from Birmingham to Eastbourne the same evening for her next meet. They arrived at their destination in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday and Sania took the court against Tatiana Poutchek at 1 pm.
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 |
 Sania Mirza began her grass court campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Tatiana Poutchek at the Aegon Classic on Tuesday, shrugging off a persistent wrist injury that had threatened to end her career.
The 22-year-old from India hit the ball well and moved superbly. She made a rampaging start, breaking serve immediately and then winning a third game that went to eight deuces and which lasted more than a quarter of an hour.
"After what I have been through I am thankful to God that I am back," she said, referring to the multiple problems with the wrist which required surgery and prolonged rehab.
Poutchek, a qualifier from Belarus, grew increasingly frustrated as the match quickly went away from her. She twice broke back in the second set for 1-1 and 2-2 but was unable to ever take the lead. |
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Saturday, 30 May 2009 |
 She might be used to scoring on the tennis court, but India's tennis sensation Sania Mirza is all set to win the match of her life. This one, of course, involves a love different from the points.
The famous Mirza girl from Hyderabad is reportedly all set to become a pretty bride pretty soon. But she will remain a Hyderabadi and a Mirza as well. That's because Sania is reportedly getting engaged as early as in July to Muhammad Sohrab Mirza, a 23-year-old B.com graduate from Hyderabad.
Sohrab and Sania have known each other for a few years. Their families have been friends. Sohrab is planning to go to the UK to pursue an MBA degree.
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Saturday, 30 May 2009 |
It was a mixed day for India at the French Open as Leander Paes sailed into pre-quarterfinals of the men's doubles but Sania Mirza crashed out of the women's doubles event.
The 14th seeded Sania and Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang were knocked out 6-4 6-7 (5) 3-6 by the unseeded Polish pair of Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska here today.
Sania and Chia had a chance to seal the match but they failed to serve it out in the 10th game of the second set and allowed their rivals to fight their way back.
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Thursday, 28 May 2009 |
 Tennis star Sania Mirza is set to marry a Hyderabadi guy. Sania, who is facing severe injuries and declining career, now wants to settle by the beginning of next year.
Sohrab Mirza is a Hyderabad based businessman and Sania is reportedly taking interest in him and talks are in final stage for the marriage, sources believe. There is not much more in tennis circuit for Sania.
According to the reports, Sania tried to do friendship with international tennis player Marat Safin, but it didn’t work as Safin was not interested in the Hyderabadi girl.
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Wednesday, 27 May 2009 |
 Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza crashed out of French Open women's singles event after losing in straight sets to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva in Roland Garros on Tuesday. Sania went down 4-6 6-7 (3) in a contest lasting a little over an hour and a half.
Sania, who has never gone beyond the second round at Roland Garros, had little match practice going into the clay court event.
The Indian's rustiness was quite evident in the six double faults she committed in the very first set. Sania's failure to convert any of the four break points that she earned only added to her problems.
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Tuesday, 26 May 2009 |
 Indian tennis ace Sainia Mirza is all set to play her opener at the French Open on Tuesday (May 26) where she takes on the unseeded Kazakh Galina Voskoboeva.
Mirza, who is recovering from yet another injury, has seen her ranking fall to her current position of 95 th in the world. But the only Grand Slam to be played on clay, will offer the Hyderabadi the chance to once again start her climb to the top 32 of the game.
Sania reached a career high ranking of 27 in August 2007 but with injuries plaguing her career, Sania has steadily slipped in the singles rankings. |
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