Sania leaves for australia:Siddharth

hi frndzz sania will be leaving for australia on 26 th or 27 th she will be playing HYUNDAI HOPMAN CUP in perth from 3oth december thought the schedule says that her first match is on 31 st december against czech republic..lets support her..,

SANIA LAUNCHES SPORTS CHANNEL:SIDDHARTH

Neo Sports announced the launch of their new 24-hour sports entertainment channel, Neo Sports Plus at a press conference yesterday afternoon at the CCI. Starting exactly an hour after schedule, five sports personalities were present for the launch (which probably explains the delay). Shooter Anjali Bhagwat, billiards player Michael Ferriera, badminton champ Pulela Gopichand, table tennis player Kamlesh Mehta and ace tennis player Sania Mirza were all present to lend their support to the new channel.The 'unveiling' of these personalities was done in a rather dramatic way. Appearing on the podium wearing white masks and the Indian cricket team's official blue jersey (?), the five removed their masks to pulsating music and flashing lights!Speaking on the occasion was Shashi Kalathil, CEO Neo Sports Broadcast, said, "When we launched Neo Sports, the only channel, which caters to cricket, the response we got was overwhelming. Neo Sports Plus is a channel especially for viewers who are passionate about different sports and our 24-hour channel which show all sports from all corners of the world. The channel goes on air as of now and I hope it is as successful as Neo Sports."The new channel has tied up with various sporting events, so be prepared to watch premier league like Bundesliga, Serie A, Copa Suda Americana and Copa Libertadores. Motor sports in the form of V8 Supercars and the Superbike World Championships will also be aired while the channel also plans to focus on the sport of Badminton by covering events like the Sudirman Cup, The Thomas Cup, The Uber Cup and the World Badminton Championship.The channel also plans to telecast all domestic and international cricket matches played in India in regional languages. The channel's first big showing will be the Duleep Trophy final that will be shown later this month

DREAM ANGEL REPLACED BY DREAM GIRL

It looks like falling down WTA rankings isn’t all that Sania Mirza, India’s tennis sensation has to worry about. Now it appears that she is even losing lucrative commercial contracts to others. As if that were not enough, to add insult to injury, her replacement is a woman old enough to be her mother, i.e. Bollywood’s dream girl of yester years, Hema Malini. Malabar Gold which had appointed India’s high profile tennis prodigy as its brand ambassador have chosen to replace her with aging actress Hema Malini. The company officials admit that there was partial success with Sania Mirza as brand ambassador in roping in the youth. However the ageless appeal of Hema Malini is what they feel will help them achieve the targets they have set. When Sania Mirza’s year-long contract with Malabar Gold expired they decided against renewing her contract. Instead Hema Malini and Mohanlal star in their new ad which was shot ironically in Hyderabad, the hometown of Sania Mirza. The officials maintain that the parting with the tennis player was mutual. Kalyan Pedibotla, marketing manager for Malabar Gold goes on to say that Hema Malini was glad to accept the offer of being associated with the brand. She also complements the other brand ambassador of the company, Mohanlal, a superstar in his own right in the Malayalam film industry. This seems to be one instance where youth has given way to age and experience. Maybe now Sania can concentrate more on pulling herself up the rankings.

SANIA MIRZA MADE A GUY AS LUCKY AS THE KOHINOOR DIAMOND :SIDDHARTH

On the second round singles match against Sandra Kloesel Sania was very nicely and bravely supported by a vocal crowd of 5000,which in the end acted as a catalyst to Sania Mirza's win over the German and in return Sania gave a guy Her racquet with which she played majority of the first set and was the mode of anger of sania because she threw the racquet in disgust and THAT RACQUET WAS GIVEN TO A LUCKY GUY FROM KOLKATA AND HE GRABBED IT WITH BoTH HANDS.HE CHEERED THE MOST AMONG ALL THE CROWD AND WAS EVEN LOOKED BY SANIA MIRZA IT WAS EVIDENT OF THE FACT THAT SANIA HERSELF GAVE HIM THE RACQUET WHICH MORMALLY DOES NOT HAPPEN... SANIA ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP HER FANS HAPPY AND THIS TIME IT WAS SEEN HOW BIG SANIA'S HEART IS AFTER ALL SHE IS ALSO A HUMAN..AND MOREOVER AN INDIAN........PLZZ REPLY WITH THE PICS OF THE GUY AND THE VIDEO WILL BE HIGHLY REGARDED...I AM SEARCHING THE PHOTO OF THE LUCKY GUY AND WILL POST IT SOONER THAN LATER..

SANIA SLUMPS TO 70:SIDDHARTH

It's a huge slump for Sania Mirza in the latest WTA rankings announced on Monday, the 19-year-old has fallen 16 places from 54 to a lowly 70. It is after Sania lost in the second round of the US Open whereas she had reached the fourth round last year. However, the good news is that Sania will have a chance to climb up if she comes up with a good show at the Sunfeast open in Kolkata next week. Martina Hingis, the world number 9, will also play in the event.Sania, however retains her ranking of 28 in doubles while Leander Paes' doubles title at the US Open has taken him back into the top 10 doubles players of the world at number nine.

SANIA CAN REACH TOP 20 :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.
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SANIA MANIA ACCOLADES

Career highlights
2006 Bangalore Open (Hyderabad Open in the previous years) doubles: Won the tournament (partnering with Liezel Huber)
2005 Japan Open: reaches the semi-finals of women's singles and doubles (partnering Shahar Peer of Israel); reaches her highest doubles ranking of 114.
2005 US Open: reaches 4th round by defeating Marion Bartoli of France in straight sets (7-6(4), 6-4) before losing to top seed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-1. Voted Best Player of the day on the 3rd day for winning her 2nd round match despite bleeding toes.
2005 Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic, New York: reaches her second WTA final but fails to win
2005 Acura Classic: upsets Nadia Petrova in 2nd round but loses in the third round to Akiko Morigami of Japan (2-6,6-4,4-6). By beating the 8th-ranked Petrova, she breaks into top 50 in world rankings for the first time ever.
2005 Dubai Tennis Championships: Upset reigning US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2 in 2nd round to reach the quarter-finals
2005 Hyderabad Open singles: Won the tournament defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the final and became the first Indian woman to capture a WTA singles title.
2005 Australian Open singles: 3rd round: Became first Indian woman to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam tournament.
2004 Hyderabad Open doubles: Won the tournament (partnering with Liezel Huber) to become the youngest Indian to win a WTA or ATP tour title and the first Indian woman to capture a WTA tour title. entered the singles as wild card but lost in the first round to the eventual winner Nicole Pratt.
2003 Wimbledon Championships Juniors doubles: Won the tournament (partnering with Alisa Kleybanova) to become the youngest Indian and the first Indian woman to win a junior Grand Slam title.
2003 Afro-Asian Games: won four gold medals - Women's singles, Mixed doubles (with Mahesh Bhupathi), Women's doubles and Women's team events (the last two golds in partnership with Rushmi Chakravarthy) [2]

SANIA MIRZA BIOGRAPHY

Player name:Sania Mirza
Birth Date:15 Nov 1986
Birth Place:Mumbai
Residence:Hydrabad
Nationality:India
Height:5'7 1/2" (1.53m)
Weight:130 lbs. (59kg)
Plays;Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)
Favourite Surface:Hard
Coach:C.G.K. Bhupathi
Age Began Tennis:6
Personal Interest:Swimming, Music
Ambition in tennis:To be in the Top 20 of the World.
Favourite player:Steffi Graf
Favorite movie:Oceans 11


Sania Mirza is a professional female tennis player from India. She was born in Hyderabad, India and started playing tennis at the age of 6. Her father Imran, is a builder, and mother, Naseema, works in printing business. She also one sister, Anam. She's a big fan of the movie movie Ocean's 11 and her favourite actors are Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant. She loves listening to Hindi Remixes and Hip hop, includin Eminem. Other then tennis she also likes swimming and playing cricket.

SANIA AND A P J KALAMTO BE PART OF BA CURRICULAM

Now Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam and sania mirza to be part of BA curriculumPresident A P J Abdul Kalam and india tennis star Sania Mirza will feature in English text books in Delhi university's (DU) BA programme. It will also carry short stories written by indian authors such as Magsaysay award winner Mahashwets devi, Manju kapur and Sidharth chaudhry replacing the canonical authors. Making it a more intractive and interesting subject, textbooks will also contain cartoons, blurbs and indian comic characters to explain real life situations to which students can relate.
Sania Mirza makes a move out in the very first round The Indian tennis queen who has recently shifted to 54th position in the WTA ranking, Sania Mirza unfortunately made an exit in the very first round of the $60,000 JP Morgan Open tennis tournament in Los Angeles. In this singles round she played against world’s 28th ranked experienced Serbian player Jelena Jankovic. Sania lost in the first second, tried to make a comeback in the second set which ended in a tie but Jelena drew the match on her side easily in an hour and twenty-three minutes. In the doubles Sania has already got defeated with her South African partner Liezel Huber against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and Maria Kirilenko of Russia in the very first round.
Sania Mirza not in seventh heavenThe young Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza does not give airs to herself after defeating the former world number 11 Meghann Shaughnessy of the United States at a score of 6-3 6-1 (on 1st August 2006) in the Acura Classic in San Diego. Read More
Sania unfortunate in singles and doubles pre quarter and Quarter Finals respectively The goddess of Indian tennis Sania Mirza lost to the Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva (3rd August 2006) and moved out of the women’s singles in the $1.3m Acura Classic WTA Tour tennis event held in San Diego, California. Read More
Bhupati contends that hardcourt is right for Sania In a latest interview in Kolkata, the Indian men’s tennis hero Mahesh Bhupati claimed that Sania is yet to show her best performance. He said “She is far from her prime. She is still on the rising curve and should reach her prime in two or three years”. Bhupati, whose company Globosport looks after Sania is completely sure that soon Sania will break into the top 10-15 of the WTA rankings. “She has the potential and I ma sure she will deliver”. Right now Bhupati is looking forward to the US Open. He expects Sania to deliver some record making performances in it. He feels that hardcourt is ideal for Sania because she has picked most of her points at the hardcourt tournaments that happened last year. “Hardcourt is her best surface and she should do well on it”, he said. Bhupati added that “the US Open will be a very important tournament for Sania”.
Mahesh Bhupati predicts a bright future for Sania MirzaIn a current interview with the press the well known legendary Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupati claimed that the young and budding Indian tennis icon Sania Mirza will be among the world’s top ten players within a span of two years. Read More
Is Sania Mirza Akshay Kumar’s latest Dhadkan?Bollywood superhero Akshay Kumar who is lauded for his unique performances is recently in news (not because of his latest hit Phir Hera Pheri) but because of his Sania mania. Read More
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SANIA MANIA AT SAKE FOR GLAMOUR

Sania mirza has been going down in rankings but is very speedy and quick to grab these oppurtunities to shoot ad films which is quite evident from the fact that she is seen in a new ad film for HP ..its another glam-ride for mirza's fans but its high time for sania to up the tempo of her game if she's planning to secure her future,,,,,,as said and pointed by experts sania's serve and fitness has improved by her standards but not good enough in comparisons to her competitors ...lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for best,,,,,,,AND think that her best is yet to come and we will see a glimmer of that when sania plays sunfeast open in kolkata from 18-24 september ...

SANIA'S GAME HASN'T IMPROVED : BRETT

NEW DELHI, Sept 7: Tennis guru Bob Brett says "God given talent" has carried Sania Mirza so far but to go further in the game, the Indian ace must work hard on her fitness. "Sania has been winning so far on her God given talent ... from here on, she must suffer the physical pain," Brett, with whom Sania has had brief stints in the past, said. "The bench mark for today's women players is Justine Henin-Hardenne. And for men, it is Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. "Sania must aspire to that level. It is important for her to address this, to face the challenge of modern tennis," said the Italian, in the city for a three-day coaching programme sponsored by 'Head'. Brett, who has coached the likes of Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin among other leading players, said Sania is a much more improved player technically and physically now than she was a few years back. "We should judge her at the end of her career. She is physically better than she was three years ago, technically better than two years ago," he said. On Sania struggling to string together a few wins in her second year as senior pro, Brett said she was probably focussing more on her weaknesses and in the process had failed to work on her strengths. "Her backhand has definitely improved and so has her serve. But she has started to miss her forehands," observed Brett, at whose academy in Italy other Indian players like Rohan Bopanna and Harsh Mankad have also trained. "Athletes are traditionally obsessed with improving their weakness, without paying attention to the development of their strengths. "Now she has started to think about her forehand. It is still one of the best in the game, the instinct has not disappeared from her character." Brett, who is also currently the coach of Japanese Davis Cup team, said Sania was going through the "historically difficult second year". "It is easy to jump from 480 to 30 in rankings than to move from 30 to 20, because then the competition becomes tougher and the expectations become higher." Her game hasn't improved that quickly as her rankings. And her opponents have started to identify her areas of weaknesses. He said Sania must find a balance between going for her shots and cutting down the unforced errors, and cited her match against Maria Sharapova at the US Open last year as an instance. "When you are playing a 480-ranked player, you can finish the point in a couple of shots. But when you are playing a top-10 player, they are going to consistently put the ball back. She certainly needs to go for the winners but she must balance it with some degree of patience." Brett advised Sania to not just use her forehand as a standout weapon but make it a part of her armoury. "Individually great shots give you an advantage. But when you combine it with other aspects of the game, like serving, volleying and etc, it gives a long lasting chance for greatness." On the 19-year-old Hyderabadi lass switching three coaches this year, the Italian said probaby she did not strike the "right chemistry" with them. "Any coaching change requires nine months to see its results. Anything earlier is good fortune," he said. "It is all about finding the right chemistry. To have a good understanding is important. It is about making the right decision, finding the right person at the right time." Brett also warned her critics not to treat Sania's "wins as successes and losses as failures." "She has the ability to be a much higher-ranked player."

SANIA OUSTED FROM US OPEN IN DOUBLES

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

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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 AND MARTINA TO LEAD AT SUNFEAST OPEN,,,,

KOLKATA, Aug 29: A dazzling line up featuring the generation next of women's tennis from across the world will take centre stage at the second edition of the Sunfeast Open to be held from September 18 to 24. Leading the star studded contingent at the USD 175,000 prizemoney event will be Swiss Miss and former World No.1 Martina Hingis and India's teenage sensation Sania Mirza. The WTA Tour Tier 3 will feature as many as nine Top 100 players, including Croatia's Karolina Sprem, the runner-up in the inaugural edition of the event in 2005 and whom Sania defeated in the first round of the US Open on Monday. Yuliana Fedak from Ukraine, Hungarian Melinda Czink, Galina Voskoboeva of Russia, Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), Aravane Rezai (France) and Yulia Beygelzimer (Ukraine) are the other leading players to compete in the event, a statement from tournament organisers GloboSports 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," Mahesh Bhupathi, tennis idol and Managing Director of GloboSports, said. "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

SANIA IN PRESSURE

after a terrible run in the womens pro circuit sania mirza is in chaotic trouble and needs to quickly find a rythm otherwise all her name and fame will leave her........i though want my members and sania;s fans to keep faith in her ability and pray to god for her success,,, wish her luck and send her wishes through me i will try ny best to help u out,

SANIA IS CARED BY GLOBOSPORT

Sania Mirza is something more than an athlete. When the precocious 18-year-old from Hyderabad stepped onto court in her third round match at the Australian Open against Serena Williams, and confidently traded groundstrokes and fought fire with fire, she captured the spirit of New India.
She is the first Indian girl to win at the Wimbledon Juniors and to be ranked in the top 10 world junior rankings, and the only Indian to be ranked No. 1 in the world junior doubles rankings.
She is the youngest Indian to win a professional tennis tour title, the first Indian to win a WTA Tour doubles title and a WTA Tour singles title. She is the first Indian woman to break into the top 100 world rankings and the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam event.With Sania’s impressive effort in the second round of Wimbledon 2005, her WTA ranking has escalated to a career-best 70.
Sania’s inspired and exciting performance against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of Wimbledon 2005 caught the attention of TV viewers, spectators and the media. Sania had previously defeated Kuznetsova on her way to winning the Dubai Open earlier in the year.
Today, Sania is more than a tennis player. With her irresistible combination of talent and flamboyance - she has emerged as a popular youth icon, and as a nation's sweetheart, her every move is followed by millions in both urban and small-town India.
Sania moved up the rankings with her progress to the semifinals of the Japan Open and more recently partnered South African Liezel Huber to win the Bangalore Open doubles finals while also making it to the second round of the USD 175,000 Bangalore Open. India is clearly witnessing something new - a global sports icon from India who is a household name and a record-breaker.Globosport is proud to be managing Sania's brand equity and showcasing her clear edge.India's Mirza to train with Federer coachRoche agrees to work with MirzaSania Mirza eyeing top 15 spot Not just tennis, Sania can change worldSania Mirza on Time Magazine CoverSania Mirza and Aishwarya Rai march on to Semi Finals!
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Tennis Week: You had good results in New York last year, reaching the final of Forest Hills and the fourth round of the U.S. Open. How does it feel to be back?Sania Mirza: I have some good memories of this place. Yesterday, I went to the U.S. Open and I told my dad "I've got some great memories from this place after playing on center court last year." I was telling him the person sitting on top seemed so small looking up from the court. I have some good memories playing here (Forest Hills) reaching the final last year. Unfortunately, I lost, but I played some great tennis.Tennis Week: Why did you choose to play Forest Hills instead of New Haven?Sania Mirza: I would be playing the qualies at New Haven, for one. It's very tight. The top seed in the qualies this year is 27 so I was six out of the main draw. I think this is a great tournament to play and just before the Open it's nice and relaxed and there are only 16 girls and it's almost like you come and practice and you don't need to wait in line for the physio. It's just very relaxed to be playing here the week before the Open, especially when you go to a Slam it's so crazy; there are like thousands of people outside. So it's really nice to be here.Tennis Week: You worked with Federer's coach, Tony Roche, in the offseason. How did that go and will you be working with Tony again?Sania Mirza: I went to him in December last year and I was there for about a month. I don't know if you noticed, but I changed my serve and I did that with him. Obviously, I've had some great results and the percentage on my first serve is averaging 60 to 65 percent per match on a good day and on a bad day it's averaging about 50 percent whereas on a good day before it used to be like 40 percent so I think that's a real big plus to my game right now. As to when I'm going to go back to him, it's a difficult question because he's traveling with Roger. I might go back again in the offseason after I travel to Asia and play a few tournaments, I might go back to him.Tennis Week: How is your arm?Sania Mirza: It's actually, touch wood, doing OK. I think this is the first time when I'm in a tournament where I have no major injuries in a really long time since last year. Even when I played here last year I had a torn abdominal muscle and that was very awful because I had to skip Toronto the week before and I came here the week before and I had internal bleeding in the muscle. This whole year my elbow has been troubling me and my wrist, I was out for a month again because of my wrist. I've done a lot of rehab and been strengthening it quite a lot. The last couple of months, I think it's been mental, that I had the tape or the brace on my arm. It's hard when you've been playing with it for four months to just take it off because you're scared and you don't want to do the same thing over again. But I'm confident that I've strengthened it enough that hopefully it shouldn't be a problem. You know, freak accidents can happen.Tennis Week: As you look ahead in your game and career what would you like to add and refine in your game?Sania Mirza: My serve used to be a weakness and I don't think it's a weakness anymore. I'm trying to come a lot more to the net and trying to be more offensive — not in terms of hitting the ball harder, which I think is quite hard for me to hit it any harder than I do — but in terms of building the point and coming to the net and being offensive at the net. A lot of the top girls barely do (come to net) except like Mauresmo or Henin does it a little bit, but a lot of girls don't do it.Tennis Week: When you review your notes during a match what are the things you're reviewing? What are the keys to building a point?Sania Mirza: There's no doubt that my forehand and backhand can match anyone, it's about the place that they're put in. I can hit the ball as hard as anyone can, but I think it's more about where I'm hitting the ball. Instead of 90 mph it can just be a 50 mph forehand, but the placement is more important. So I've been working on that a lot more. When you're working on things, maybe your performance drops a little bit or you're trying new things in every tournament you're going in so that's just a process of being an athlete because you're learning, you're adding new things to your game. When I sit with my notes, for instance, instead of hitting a hard forehand return, I would like to hit an angled forehand return instead. So I always tell my coach "You're not getting to that shot, but a lot of girls are getting it." But at least I am setting up the point and the whole court is open even if they get to that ball.Tennis Week: For this tournament, what are the things you're working on in preparation for the U.S. Open?Sania Mirza: I would have liked to get a lot more matches this year, but I really haven't gotten as many as I wanted. Right now, I'm feeling good with the ball. Honestly, it may sound funny, but I think I am hitting the ball much better than I was last year. And I feel like I'm more a complete player this year than I was last year. It's just a matter of putting everything together. Sometimes, you just feel you get to four-all, 30-all and you feel like you can win the match, but for some reason you're not winning it maybe because maybe you're trying something you've been working on the last few months. So in this tournament I want to try to get in as many matches as I can. To start with, I want to play a good match in the first round. The conditions here are a lot different than they were in Montreal or L.A. because it's a lot windier here and it's a lot more humid here.Tennis Week: What's your take on the WTA's experimenting with on-court coaching and with the use of replay during the U.S. Open Series and at the Open?Sania Mirza: I love the replay rule. Especially for a player like me where I go for a lot of winners and I hit a lot of lines a lot of the times. Sometimes, I've gotten calls against me in tiebreakers and now I feel like I can challenge that call. I mean, I might be wrong, but it's like giving myself a second chance when I really am sure that I hit the ball on the line. I think it's great and that so many players are using it and liking the rule. I was listening to Hingis saying she likes the rule, and the other day Andy Roddick was saying he liked it. I saw Andy Murray get some calls that he challenged and it helped him. It's great that they are using it — I don't know if it's great for the linesmen (laughs).Tennis Week: I remember watching you play Mashona Washington on the Grandstand at the Open last year and it was quite an electric crowd. You're a player who generally gets pretty good crowd support, can you feed of a crowd energy and can that help you?Sania Mirza: They definitely help you. I always say you'd rather have them for you than against you. Fortunately, 90 percent of the time they are for me — wherever I play and for whatever reason — there are a lot of Indians wherever I go. You want to stay as focused as you can, but you can't really block them out. They are noisy after all, they are making noise and they are cheering for you. I think sometimes when I was down in that match and so many times they helped me come up. If not for anything else, I wanted to try that one step harder for the crowd, for the thousands of people sitting there watching you play you want to give it all you have.Tennis Week: Within a 20-mile radius of Forest Hills, there are probably 500,000 Indian people. How is it that you can walk around without getting mobbed and why aren't more people coming out?Sania Mirza: For starters, there aren't that many people here to be mobbed by (laughs). Maybe they aren't aware of it yet and maybe when the matches start tomorrow (they'll be here). I remember last year at Forest Hills it grew as I was winning match. The first match, there were hardly any people, but the final that I played there were about 1,200 or 1,500 people, which is a lot for a Tier IV event where there are only 16 girls playing. Relatively, me and Safarova were really no names last year.Tennis Week: Here, but certainly not in India?Sania Mirza: Well, maybe they're busy and they have to work (laughs). I don't know, I don't agree that they're not interested because yesterday I was walking in Manhattan in the (Times) Square and so many people came up to me because there are so many Indians in Manhattan and they came up to me "Ohy my God, I can't believe you're here!" When they left the house, they probably thought "Let's go take a picture in the Square." And when they came home they had a picture with Sania in the Square, which is weird because in India they would not get that opportunity because in India I would not go to the Square. Hopefully, they will come. And I'm pretty sure there will be a lot at the Open. Last year, when I played Sharapova (at the Open), that is a big stadium and it was packed with Indians. Let's hope they do come.Tennis Week: Hingis told us a few weeks back "it's always easier to be the hunter than the hunted." In other words, the climb up the rankings can often be easier than protecting your position once you've actually made it and playing the hunter can be easier than being the hunted. For you, after your breakthrough year last year now you're playing under the pressure of having to defend points and results. Do you agree with Hingis on that view?Sania Mirza: No doubt. I can't agree with her more. Last year, I was a rookie on the Tour and every match I won, it was a surprise when I won. And this year, every time I lose it's a surprise. Of course it gets to you and of course it is pressure. Like you said, it is a lot easier to be playing the hunter than being the hunted because everyone is expecting you to win and even if you do win and you win in three sets they want you to win 2 and 2 and if you don't win 2 and 2 then that means (to them) you haven't played well and everyone's got their comments on your serve and your volley and your fitness and how you should train to improve. I mean, every athlete has to go through it. I mean, Martina Hingis does and I do too. Andy Roddick, this year, has had so much scrutiny on him. He came out in the U.S. Open Series where he needed to win and he won the tournament in Cincinnati yesterday. I really respect people like that: who against all the odds when everyone is saying "He's done. He's done", but he goes out and wins the tournament. I think when I watched him play the last couple of matches, those are some of the best matches I've ever seen him play. I mean, he might have played even better winning the U.S. Open in 2003, but these last few matches are the best I've ever seen him play. So it's just a matter of putting a few things together. I think it's the same story with me. Right now, everyone is saying: "Sania is not winning. She's not winning enough." But come to think of it, my performance in the whole U.S. trip is exactly the same as it was last year: I lost first round in L.A., I did not play Toronto last year, but I've reached third round of San Diego so did I last year, I reached quarters of Cincinnati, so did I last year. Everything is exactly the same on this trip. And my doubles, I am now 29 in the world and last year I was 180 or whatever...Tennis Week: But the expectations have changed...Sania Mirza: Yeah, that's my point: the expectations have changed. And that's why people look at it different and now that I lose third round people are like "How did she lose this match?" And even though I was playing Patty Schnyder in the quarters and I had some set points, no one saw I had set points and I hit the net cord and it came back, it was like "Oh my God, she lost!"Tennis Week: But it can't just be the fans' expectations and media expectations, your own expectations must have changed as well?Sania Mirza: I think I try to not think about that as much. Because I think I have a lot of people probably already expecting more than I can ever do, so it's better for me — even now when I got out in a Grand Slam I can't think "I have to make the fourth round (at the Open) again because I made the fourth round last year..." I got out and I think I have to win the first match. My goal for every tournament is to win the first match because I truly believe the first match is one of the hardest matches because it's new: new climate, new atmosphere, new player, new balls. Everything is new. So for me, tomorrow when I step on court, I'm not going to think: "I made finals last year, I have to make finals this year. I have to win the tournament." No, I just want to play the first round and win it.Tennis Week: At the same time you're not ruling out winning tournaments or Grand Slams?Sania Mirza: No. But I don't look at who I am playing in the second round; my dad might do it and my team might do it, but I don't do it until I get to the second round. It's just mental, I think, I need to ease off the pressure and this is my way of doing it.Tennis Week: As the first Indian woman to make an impact on professional tennis, you're often described as an inspiration to athletes and women in India. Who or what is your inspiration?Sania Mirza: My parents have been a great inspiration to me. I came in the picture later because they went against the odds and said we're going to make our daughter play tennis. Everyone laughed at them at the time and some said "That's stupid" and now those same people come back today and say "We're sorry we said that" (laughs). The fact that there were two tennis courts in the whole city, didn't help. When I was six and a half my mom went to the local coach and said "We think she's ready to play." And he refused, the first time, he said "No, she's too small." In India, they didn't believe then that a girl who was six and a half could pick up a tennis racquet and play whereas they didn't know in Russia girls were picking up racquets and playing at the age of three or two. If I didn't start until I was eight or 10, I probably wouldn't even be here. My parents fought that and said "No, we want her to play." My mom forced that guy to take me and I did go there and I ended up playing with him for about a year or a year and a half and two months after I started there, he called my dad and he said "I really think you need to come and watch her play. I've never seen a six-year-old hit a ball like that." But I mean, he had never seen a six-year-old hit a ball (at all) because that's not how it worked at that point. Six-year-old girls in a place like Hyderabad did not play; tennis was a recreation like badminton or gardening. So I draw inspiration from my parents. Steffi Graf has always been my tennis idol; always Steffi Graf. Just the way she was and the way she carried herself on the court and off the court. She does inspire me today. Everyone asks me "Who is your favorite tennis player?" And I always say "Steffi Graf." I just cannot imagine anyone being better than her, you know? I think a lot of people love Steffi Graf for the way she was on and off the court.Tennis Week: Who comprises your traveling team now?Sania Mirza: My dad is a constant. He's kind of the super coach. He's been there always. He's watched me play on courts with holes and he's watched me play on center court at the U.S. Open (laughs). He's been there for the last 13 years. I have a coach who I practice with when I go back home. I was traveling with John Farrington last year and we stopped in about February after I won the doubles title in Bangalore. I had an Indian coach, Asifismail, who had been helping me a lot and he's a serve-and-volleyer so he was very helpful in terms of my volley. He has a job in Hong Kong and on the circuit it's a tough life to be away from your family and friends so that didn't work out, but I would love to him him again. Now, Narendernath is traveling with me. When I was growing up, he played with me, he knows my game and we get along so he is here with me right now. I have a trainer, an Australian girl, Jade Hoddies, who used to train me, but she had to go home so I am kind of looking for a trainer right now.Tennis Week: You look like you lost weight since we last saw you?Sania Mirza: A lot of people have told me that (laughs).Tennis Week: You look fitter than last year is a nicer way of putting it.Sania Mirza: Yes. My weight is exactly the same as last year, but I've lost a lot of fat and converted it to muscle. Honestly, it's not been intentional. I thought, my weight is this and I looked at the (weight) chart and saw I'm supposed to be here and if I go any less than that I can't hit the ball as hard. I have been doing more physical training and I've been trying to get faster and I was trying to build muscle in my leg and trying to get stronger and I think it's automatically happened, which is good because I didn't have to go on a strict diet. I was still eating normal and eating healthy.Tennis Week: So going three hard sets is not a problem?Sania Mirza: No, I think it's not about physical anymore it's about trying to get my game all together. There have been bits and pieces everywhere. I know I have every shot: I have the slice, I have the volley, I have the approach, I have the angles, I have the serve. It's just about putting everything together and doing it in the match.Tennis Week: Have you been doing anything in terms of mental training?Sania Mirza: Well, I'm not a yoga person. I've been told to try yoga. I just can't get myself to do yoga. I pray four or five times a day so it's about 10 minutes of total concentration God during those prayers so I really think that helps me. a lot with my game also because when you're trying to focus only on God, you're trying to get everything else out of your head and just have that single focus. Trust me, it's very hard to do that four or five times a day. I mean, it's hard enough to do it once a day, but four or five times a day to just switch off the world and focus everything on God is difficult to do and I do try to do that four or five times a day. I think that's one of the reasons yoga is not part of my routine and I feel this is better because I am actually being constructive, but in yoga I'm just going blank.Tennis Week: Who will you play doubles with at the Open and is there anyone you view as sort of your standard partner?Sania Mirza: No, I don't have a regular partner. I've never had a regular partner in my life and I'm 29 in the world in doubles (laughs). It's very hard when you're young and you're coming up and you reach this stage and as a singles player my priority is obviously singles and you want to play certain tournaments for singles where a doubles player might want you to play other tournaments for doubles so it's hard for me to have a regular partner. A lot of singles players don't want to play doubles every time so that's a problem too. For the Open, I'm playing with Liezel Huber again. We've played a few times, we've won a couple of tournaments and we've played well together. With my groundstrokes, Liezel is a great partner because she's so good and so quick at the net.Tennis Week: You can set her up from the baseline.Sania Mirza: Exactly. I hit it so heavy it can set up my partner. A lot of girls don't volley that well. Men's singles and doubles is so different, but women's singles and doubles you can find similarities. Women singles players can be really good doubles players even if they can't volley. We had Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano Pascual playing from behind the baseline, one behind and one in front, still dominating. I am looking for someone who can serve and who I can set up so she needs to move well at net. I usually do pretty well at mixed doubles because the guy at net is always moving and I hit it pretty heavy so I am trying to set him up. I am playing mixed doubles with Vizner.Tennis Week: Did you always hit such a heavy, hard forehand? And if so is it because you had timing or where you a naturally strong girl even as a kid?Sania Mirza: I was never a strong girl. I was naturally very small and petite. When I was younger, I was a tiny girl. They didn't even think I was gonna grow that much. I'm five-foot-seven and a half and they didn't think I would grow that tall. I think it was just timing, especially on my forehand. Interesting, I used to have a really Westernized grip. I mean, my grip now is semi-Western, but before it was like really, really almost (Alberto) Berasategui-like. I learned on clay, but the clay in India is very different. It's brown, orange-brown, but it is very fast, almost like a hard court and it's so much easier to slide on. It's like playing on a hard court, but you can slide on it. Thankfully, before I started the cow dung courts were going out (laughs). So I had this grip, but they wanted me to change it and everyone had their opinion. I got to this point where I am today where it is semi-western and I could not go any further because that is my natural shot. When you're eight you want to try different things to make it as perfect as you can. So I stopped at eight, but even at age nine they used to say I had one of the biggest forehands in the under-16s in the whole of India so today they say I have one of the biggest forehands on the WTA circuit so obviously people could see I had a big forehand even when I was nine. It just comes so natural and it comes so effortless it just seems like I can hit it as hard as I want when I'm relaxed. That's when the problem comes: when I try to hit it so hard that's when I make errors. It's like everything else: when you force it to much, you mess it up. So I have to be as natural as I can on that. I have this photographer in my room of myself hitting a forehand when I was seven. And I have the same photo from the Sharapova match at the U.S. Open last year and the style of my forehand in that photo looks exactly the same as the one I was hitting at age seven.Tennis Week: You're working with Mahesh Bhupathi for off court endeavors, where are you and he talking about taking your career?Sania Mirza: He basically manages my whole endorsement deals and the commercial aspect of my career, to be honest. Of course, we have a personal relationship. We're almost like family because I practiced about a year off and on with his father in Bangalore so I've known Mahesh about five or six years now. And when I was growing up he was of course a huge star in India and we looked up to Mahesh and Leander Paes as our role models. We're great friends and I know if I'm in trouble or if I need anything I can go up to him for help as my friend, he's not my agent, I can go to him as my friend. In terms of commercial there are a few deals I have and I think I endorse about six or seven companies: Hyundai, Sprite.Tennis Week: ESPN2 always airs the Lotto commercial you're in during its tournament coverage.Sania Mirza: The funny thing about that is I didn't shoot for that commercial, they got those clips from the U.S. Open. That's what makes it so cool: every time I have to do a shoot I have to spend a day or two days shooting in these remote places.Tennis Week: In the States, one recent topic of tennis conversation is the state of American tennis and is it in decline. Yet globally, we're seeing the Chinese woman really starting to make an impact, we've already had the Russian revolution and you've made a breakthrough for Indian woman. Where do you see the game growing globally and how important is the spread of tennis to the east and other areas of the world vital for the future of the game?Sania Mirza: Of all the sports I've seen, I think tennis is the most competitive sport you can find of all the sports in the world. Because we are playing week after week, 36 weeks a year competing against the same players over and over again. We get one month off at the end of the year and we still have to practice that month because you have the Australian Open in January. There is never a period where we are not thinking or working on tennis. It's so competitive right now and I think it's great that our sport it world wide. There's this girl, Emma (Laine) from Finland and I didn't even know anyone from Finland until I met her. She's top 70 now. I played against her in Cincinnati so I know she's really good. We have a lot of players coming from India. When I go to practice at the stadium and before when I used to play under 10 tournaments we used to get people just go come to fill out an eight-player draw and we used to get girls who didn't even know how to play tennis just to fill out the draws. Now, you have 200 entries in the under-10 and under-12 tournaments in India. That just proves how many people have picked up tennis racquets in India. You just don't know who is going to make it and who can make the top 100 because just making the top 500 can be so difficult. But at least the attempt is there. Everyone believes you can be a sportsperson in India and you don't have to be a cricketer. It used to be "Oh, you're a sportsperson, you play cricket?" "No, I play tennis." And that's not weird anymore. People don't make fun of the parents when they say they are sending their child to play tennis. I don't know if it will happen in the next two years, five years or 10 years, but just in the way China had a sudden breakthrough, in my time, India might have that breakthrough too.Tennis Week: So the future Fed Cup final will be China vs. India?

SANIA MIRZA

sania is going to rock the indian crowd once again at the sunfeast open,,,,