Sania Mirza returns a shot to Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris May 26, 2009.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sania Mirza returns a shot to Galin (photo)
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Sania Mirza returns a shot to Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris May 26, 2009.
Sania Mirza returns a shot to Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris May 26, 2009.
Sania Mirza serves ball
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Sania Mirza serves a ball to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Mirza was knocked out of the French Open after a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) defeat to Voskoboeva in a rain-hit first-round match on Tuesday.
Sania Mirza serves a ball to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Mirza was knocked out of the French Open after a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) defeat to Voskoboeva in a rain-hit first-round match on Tuesday.
Sania Mirza returns a ball to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboev (photo)
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Sania Mirza returns a ball to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva during the French Open tennis second round match at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Mirza blamed a lack of match practice after being eliminated in the first round of the French Open here on Tuesday.
Sania Mirza returns a ball to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva during the French Open tennis second round match at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Mirza blamed a lack of match practice after being eliminated in the first round of the French Open here on Tuesday.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
French Open:Sania blames lack of match practice for first round shocker
Clay has never been Sania Mirza's favourite surface but the Indian blamed lack of match practice due to injury for her first round exit from the French Open here today.
The world number 95 Indian, who had an injury-plagued 2008 due to a recurring wrist problem, lost to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in a rain-hit first round match.
"I haven't had too much practice because I injured my wrist again after Madrid (Open) and had to get it treated at home. And clay is not one of my favourite surfaces to play on," said the Indian.
"It was tough conditions, going on and off the court, and it was also windy. But I take nothing away from her (Voskoboeva). She played really well, served really well and I think that was the difference," added Sania.
Sania, who became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title with her Australian Open mixed doubles success with Mahesh Bhupathi, was also disappointed for her fans.
"It's great support, because there's a lot of Indians supporting, but there's also a lot of pressure. They expect me to win every match I play, but I think I'm used to it now.
"The amount of people who came up to say congratulations -- those are really small things, but they really mean a lot. A stranger walks up to you and says 'I'm so happy' because you won a tennis match. You bring smiles to people's faces," she added.
The world number 95 Indian, who had an injury-plagued 2008 due to a recurring wrist problem, lost to Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in a rain-hit first round match.
"I haven't had too much practice because I injured my wrist again after Madrid (Open) and had to get it treated at home. And clay is not one of my favourite surfaces to play on," said the Indian.
"It was tough conditions, going on and off the court, and it was also windy. But I take nothing away from her (Voskoboeva). She played really well, served really well and I think that was the difference," added Sania.
Sania, who became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title with her Australian Open mixed doubles success with Mahesh Bhupathi, was also disappointed for her fans.
"It's great support, because there's a lot of Indians supporting, but there's also a lot of pressure. They expect me to win every match I play, but I think I'm used to it now.
"The amount of people who came up to say congratulations -- those are really small things, but they really mean a lot. A stranger walks up to you and says 'I'm so happy' because you won a tennis match. You bring smiles to people's faces," she added.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Another defeat : Sania out of French Open
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 Paris on Tuesday (May 26). 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.
Voskoboeva converted a crucial break in the seventh game to clinch the first set in 46 minutes. Sania put up a slightly better show in the second set and cut down on her double faults but 14 unforced errors pulled her back. After losing her serve twice, Sania broke back to take the set into a tie-breaker.
But Voskoboeva, who had lost to Sania in their only past encounter, dominated the proceedings thereafter and clinched the tie-breaker 7-3. Sania is still in fray in the doubles event where she has teamed up with Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang. Sania and Chuang, seeded 14th, will open their campaign against Turk-Belgian pair of Ipek Senoglu and Yanina Wickmayer.
Sania, who has not played much on clay this season, missed the French Open last year due to a chronic wrist injury that plagued her much of last year. She made a comeback in January and won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. She went on to reach the final of the Pattaya Open in February but after that her performance graph came spiralling down with a series of early exits.
She recently participated in the Madrid Masters but failed to make it to the singles main draw after a straight loss to France's Aravane Rezai in the first round of the qualifying round. She, however, made it to the doubles semi-final with Chia-Jung Chuang. Sania has never moved beyond the second round of the French Open but then clay has never been her favourite surface.
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.
Voskoboeva converted a crucial break in the seventh game to clinch the first set in 46 minutes. Sania put up a slightly better show in the second set and cut down on her double faults but 14 unforced errors pulled her back. After losing her serve twice, Sania broke back to take the set into a tie-breaker.
But Voskoboeva, who had lost to Sania in their only past encounter, dominated the proceedings thereafter and clinched the tie-breaker 7-3. Sania is still in fray in the doubles event where she has teamed up with Taipei's Chia-Jung Chuang. Sania and Chuang, seeded 14th, will open their campaign against Turk-Belgian pair of Ipek Senoglu and Yanina Wickmayer.
Sania, who has not played much on clay this season, missed the French Open last year due to a chronic wrist injury that plagued her much of last year. She made a comeback in January and won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. She went on to reach the final of the Pattaya Open in February but after that her performance graph came spiralling down with a series of early exits.
She recently participated in the Madrid Masters but failed to make it to the singles main draw after a straight loss to France's Aravane Rezai in the first round of the qualifying round. She, however, made it to the doubles semi-final with Chia-Jung Chuang. Sania has never moved beyond the second round of the French Open but then clay has never been her favourite surface.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
French Open: Sania gets easy first round draw
PARIS: Sania Mirza, India's first female Grand Slam winner, will open her French Open campaign against Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboev, ranked 95 in the world.
Sania, ranked 91, is expected to cross the first hurdle but the Indian can run into a really tough opponent in the second round where she could meet formidable seventh seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is pitted against Claire Feuerstein of the host nation in her opening round.
Sania enjoys a 1-0 lead over Voskoboev with the Indian defeating her Kazak rival in straight sets in San Diego in 2005 in their only outing.
The Indian ace had skipped the last French Open, in fact the entire clay court season, due to a wrist injury.
Sania has never moved beyond the second round here and it will be herculean task for her to improve her record.
Sania has had a wonderful start to the season as she annexed her first Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles title at Australian Open with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.
Sania, ranked 91, is expected to cross the first hurdle but the Indian can run into a really tough opponent in the second round where she could meet formidable seventh seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is pitted against Claire Feuerstein of the host nation in her opening round.
Sania enjoys a 1-0 lead over Voskoboev with the Indian defeating her Kazak rival in straight sets in San Diego in 2005 in their only outing.
The Indian ace had skipped the last French Open, in fact the entire clay court season, due to a wrist injury.
Sania has never moved beyond the second round here and it will be herculean task for her to improve her record.
Sania has had a wonderful start to the season as she annexed her first Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles title at Australian Open with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Sania mirza jumps 18 spots
Sania Mirza, who made the women’s doubles semi-finals of last week’s Madrid Open along with Chinese Taipei’s Chia-Jung Chuang, jumped 18 spots to be ranked 42nd in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) doubles rankings released on Monday. However, Sania moved down a place in the singles to be ranked 91st with 692 points.
Somdev Dev Varman moved up two places in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings released on Monday to be ranked 138th. Yuki Bhambri too moved up two places to be ranked 662nd. However, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna remained static at previous week’s positions, 163rd and 288th respectively. Bopanna moved up one spot in the doubles (65).
Leander Paes remained at No. 5 in the ATP doubles rankings but Mahesh Bhupathi lost one place to be ranked 10th with 5470 points.
Meanwhile, Sania’s father Imran Mirza said on Monday that his daughter has tendinitis. However, she was on course to play the French Open
“Sania has tendinitis in the wrist but will play the French Open,” Imran replied when asked about the 22-year-old’s withdrawal from the $220,000 Strasbourg Open this week.
Somdev Dev Varman moved up two places in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings released on Monday to be ranked 138th. Yuki Bhambri too moved up two places to be ranked 662nd. However, Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna remained static at previous week’s positions, 163rd and 288th respectively. Bopanna moved up one spot in the doubles (65).
Leander Paes remained at No. 5 in the ATP doubles rankings but Mahesh Bhupathi lost one place to be ranked 10th with 5470 points.
Meanwhile, Sania’s father Imran Mirza said on Monday that his daughter has tendinitis. However, she was on course to play the French Open
“Sania has tendinitis in the wrist but will play the French Open,” Imran replied when asked about the 22-year-old’s withdrawal from the $220,000 Strasbourg Open this week.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sania mirza ousted from Madrid
Sania Mirza’s campaign at the Madrid Open came to an end when she and partner, Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei, went down in straight sets to the third seeded Czech-American duo of Kveta Peschke and Lisa Raymond 6-7 (4-7), 4-6 in the semi-finals of the wdoubles event on Friday.
The Indo-Chinsese Taipei pair managed to convert only two of the five break points they got. In the quarter finals on Thursday, they had got the better of the Spanish second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual. Earlier, Sania had failed to qualify for the singles main.
Roger Federer’s dominance of American Andy Roddick carried over to the clay on Friday when he won 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 to reach the semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic also advanced to the semi-finals after a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ivan Ljubicic.
World No. 1 Dinara Safina advanced to the last four with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ukrainian player Alona Bondarenko. France’s Amelie Mauresmo will play Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark in the semi-finals after both players won on Friday.
The Indo-Chinsese Taipei pair managed to convert only two of the five break points they got. In the quarter finals on Thursday, they had got the better of the Spanish second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual. Earlier, Sania had failed to qualify for the singles main.
Roger Federer’s dominance of American Andy Roddick carried over to the clay on Friday when he won 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 to reach the semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic also advanced to the semi-finals after a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ivan Ljubicic.
World No. 1 Dinara Safina advanced to the last four with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ukrainian player Alona Bondarenko. France’s Amelie Mauresmo will play Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark in the semi-finals after both players won on Friday.
Sania-Chuang in Madrid Masters semis
Sania Mirza and her partner Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei advanced to the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters after their rivals Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina conceded their quarter-final match here today.
Sania and Chuang were leading 2-0 in the first set when the Russian-Belarussian duo pulled out due to an injury to Azarenka's left knee which was enough to send the unseeded Indo-Taipei pair into the last four stage of the 4,500,000 dollar event.
Sania and Chuang will now take on third seeds Lisa Raymond of the US and Kveta Peshke of Czech Republic in the next round.
The other semifinal will be played between top seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and American Liezel Huber and the fourth seeded Australian pair of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.
Sania is the lone surviving Indian in the tournament after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi crashed out of the doubles event with their respective partners earlier in the tournament.
Sania and Chuang were leading 2-0 in the first set when the Russian-Belarussian duo pulled out due to an injury to Azarenka's left knee which was enough to send the unseeded Indo-Taipei pair into the last four stage of the 4,500,000 dollar event.
Sania and Chuang will now take on third seeds Lisa Raymond of the US and Kveta Peshke of Czech Republic in the next round.
The other semifinal will be played between top seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and American Liezel Huber and the fourth seeded Australian pair of Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.
Sania is the lone surviving Indian in the tournament after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi crashed out of the doubles event with their respective partners earlier in the tournament.
Sania going strong with her partner
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Madrid masters: Sania could not make it to the singles main draw as she lost the first round of the qualifying event to France's Aravane Rezai 3-6 3-6. But Sania mirza had advanced in doubles
Madrid Masters: Sania Mirza in doubles pre-quarterfinals
Sania Mirza and her Taipei partner Chia-Jung Chuang moved to the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the euro 3,500,000 Madrid Masters after defeating wildcards Ma Emilia Salerni and Silvia Soler Espinosa in straight sets.
Sania-Chuang defeated the Argentine-Spanish pair 6-3 6-4 in their opening match.
They will next take on the second seeded pair of Anabel Median Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, who got a bye in the first round.
Sania could not make it to the singles main draw as she lost the first round of the qualifying event to France's Aravane Rezai 3-6 3-6.
Sania-Chuang defeated the Argentine-Spanish pair 6-3 6-4 in their opening match.
They will next take on the second seeded pair of Anabel Median Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, who got a bye in the first round.
Sania could not make it to the singles main draw as she lost the first round of the qualifying event to France's Aravane Rezai 3-6 3-6.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sania Mirza To Play in West Classic
Sania Mirza will play the 2009 Bank of the West Classic to be held July 27-August 2.
Sania Mirza will compete in the longest-running women-only professional tennis event in the world.
The Indian reached the singles final at the 2007 Bank of the West Classic where she fell to Anna Chakvetadze. Mirza did not go home empty handed however as she teamed with Israeli Shahar Peer to win the 2007 doubles crown.
Sania Mirza adds will join a field of already committed top players like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic.
Sania Mirza will compete in the longest-running women-only professional tennis event in the world.
The Indian reached the singles final at the 2007 Bank of the West Classic where she fell to Anna Chakvetadze. Mirza did not go home empty handed however as she teamed with Israeli Shahar Peer to win the 2007 doubles crown.
Sania Mirza adds will join a field of already committed top players like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic.
Sania mirza getting married
in certain quarters rumors are flying thick and fast that Sania mirza Mirza girl is getting married to some guy named Sohrab Mirza, the son of the Universal Bakery owners.
Is it another rumor or any truth in it ?
Is it another rumor or any truth in it ?
Sania mirza improves with single
In the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, Sania Mirza managed to stay within the top 100, gaining one place, at 92 with 692 points. Sania, however, remains constant at 60 in the doubles chart.
Sania mirza steady with partner
In the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, Sania Mirza managed to stay within the top 100, gaining one place, at 92 with 692 points. Sania, however, remains constant at 60 in the doubles chart.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Colors of sania mirza (in blue) ..pic
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Sania Mirza during a news conference in Hyderabad on February 3, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sania mirza creeps back in Top 100
Her poor singles form notwithstanding, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza rose seven places to 93rd spot in the WTA rankings issued today.
Sania, who crashed out in the second round of the Family Circle Cup last week, has 692 ranking points.
In doubles, however, Sania has dropped a rung to 60th with 1696 points.
In the ATP rankings, Leander Paes gained a spot to fifth with 6980 points, while Mahesh Bhupathi remained static at ninth with 5795 points.
Sania, who crashed out in the second round of the Family Circle Cup last week, has 692 ranking points.
In doubles, however, Sania has dropped a rung to 60th with 1696 points.
In the ATP rankings, Leander Paes gained a spot to fifth with 6980 points, while Mahesh Bhupathi remained static at ninth with 5795 points.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Sania Mirza loses in second round
Sania Mirza of India reacts after winning a set during her women's tennis match against Venus Williams of the U.S. at the Family Cup Circle Tennis Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, April 15, 2009
Sania Mirza of India returns a volley
Sania Mirza of India returns a volley during her women's tennis match against Venus Williams of the U.S. at the Family Cup Circle Tennis Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, April 15, 2009.
Sania takes on venus williams (pic)
Sania Mirza booked a second-round clash with second-seeded Venus Williams with a straight-sets victory in the one million-dollar Family Circle Cup.
Sania Mirza scares Venus williams
Sania Mirza took a set off Venus Williams, and pushed her for most of the early part of the third set, but just didn't have enough in her locker to topple the seven-time Grand Slam champion at the Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina.
Williams ran away with the first set 6-1 and was up a break in the second, leading 3-1 before a spirited Mirza fought back rattling off five games in a row to level the match at a set a piece.
The players traded a couple of breaks of serve each in the opening exchanges of the final set before Venus showed her experience and pulled away to seal the match in just under two and a half hours: 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
Though the match score might seem fairly innocuous, Mirza made a real match of the marathon encounter, which lasted a massive 215 points - an average of 9 a game!
Mirza started the match rather poorly, serving at an abysmal 42% in the opening set, and dropped it with a couple of breaks of serve. She did have her chances though, failing to take any of the four break points she created on the Williams serve.
In the second set Williams broke the Mirza serve for 2-1, and then consolidate the break by holding her own serve for 3-1. Just as it seemed that the match was all but over , Mirza went for broke, and her efforts were well rewarded in an extremely long drawn out second set.
Mirza saved 10 of 11 break points, and took the only two chances that she created to sneak away with the set on her third set point.
The third set started in ding-dong fashion as Mirza broke the Venus serve straight off the bat to go ahead 1-0. Venus broke right back to register her first game in seven. Sania broke the Williams serve for a fourth straight time to once again take the lead in the decider.
However the Mirza serve just failed to find any rhythm in the final set, as Sania was broken again to level the set at 2-2.
Venus finally held her serve to go ahead 3-2. She broke Sania again in the following game to pull ahead 4-2. The five-time Wimbledon champion saved seven break points in the final set as Mirza refused to give up, but with her own serve completely gone to bits, Mirza finally capitulated 6-2 in the decider, winning only 6 of 22 points on her own serve in the final set.
This is the first time that Sania has taken a set of Venus in their three meetings so far, the last being in the round of 32 at the Australian Open in 2008. And though there is still a lot of work to do in terms of regaining the form that saw her climb to no. 27 in the world, the Indian tennis star can take heart from a really competitive performance that tested both her fitness and desire to the maximum.
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Williams ran away with the first set 6-1 and was up a break in the second, leading 3-1 before a spirited Mirza fought back rattling off five games in a row to level the match at a set a piece.
The players traded a couple of breaks of serve each in the opening exchanges of the final set before Venus showed her experience and pulled away to seal the match in just under two and a half hours: 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
Though the match score might seem fairly innocuous, Mirza made a real match of the marathon encounter, which lasted a massive 215 points - an average of 9 a game!
Mirza started the match rather poorly, serving at an abysmal 42% in the opening set, and dropped it with a couple of breaks of serve. She did have her chances though, failing to take any of the four break points she created on the Williams serve.
In the second set Williams broke the Mirza serve for 2-1, and then consolidate the break by holding her own serve for 3-1. Just as it seemed that the match was all but over , Mirza went for broke, and her efforts were well rewarded in an extremely long drawn out second set.
Mirza saved 10 of 11 break points, and took the only two chances that she created to sneak away with the set on her third set point.
The third set started in ding-dong fashion as Mirza broke the Venus serve straight off the bat to go ahead 1-0. Venus broke right back to register her first game in seven. Sania broke the Williams serve for a fourth straight time to once again take the lead in the decider.
However the Mirza serve just failed to find any rhythm in the final set, as Sania was broken again to level the set at 2-2.
Venus finally held her serve to go ahead 3-2. She broke Sania again in the following game to pull ahead 4-2. The five-time Wimbledon champion saved seven break points in the final set as Mirza refused to give up, but with her own serve completely gone to bits, Mirza finally capitulated 6-2 in the decider, winning only 6 of 22 points on her own serve in the final set.
This is the first time that Sania has taken a set of Venus in their three meetings so far, the last being in the round of 32 at the Australian Open in 2008. And though there is still a lot of work to do in terms of regaining the form that saw her climb to no. 27 in the world, the Indian tennis star can take heart from a really competitive performance that tested both her fitness and desire to the maximum.
http://saniamirzaindaspride.blogspot.com/
Sania's date with Venus
Sania Mirza has earned a high profile date with five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the 2nd round of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina.
The two have met on a couple of occasions in the past with Venus (no surprise) leading the head to head to battle 2-0. Their previous meeting was in the 3rd round at the Australian Open in 2008, with Mirza pushing Williams all the way, losing out in a couple of hard fought sets 6-7, 4-6.
Mirza overcame Bulgarian teenager Sesil Karatantcheva 6-4, 6-4 in 76 minutes after a rather scratchy performance, to be expected from a player who has been struggling for form in singles competition this year.
The Indian ace, who came into this match with a 7-6 record in 2009 till date, has failed to light up the tour despite getting off to a good start with a final appearance in the Pattaya Open in February.
In a bit of a see-saw first set, Sania served rather poorly, only getting 52% of her first serves in. Karatantcheva made Sania pay for missing all those first serves, winning 9 of 16 points of Sania's second serve, and setting up 6 break opportunities for herself. And though Sania did drop her serve on two occasions, she did break the Bulgarian's serve thrice to close out a tight opening set.
Though her first serve did continue to struggle right through the second set, Sania only conceded the one break point in it. Karatantcheva did however take advantage of it, but was broken twice by Mirza to seal the win.
Interestingly the two girls had played once before, with 14-year old Karatantcheva beating 17-year old Mirza in three close sets in 2004. Today, Mirza did square-up that old record!
http://saniamirzaindiaspride.blogspot.com/
The two have met on a couple of occasions in the past with Venus (no surprise) leading the head to head to battle 2-0. Their previous meeting was in the 3rd round at the Australian Open in 2008, with Mirza pushing Williams all the way, losing out in a couple of hard fought sets 6-7, 4-6.
Mirza overcame Bulgarian teenager Sesil Karatantcheva 6-4, 6-4 in 76 minutes after a rather scratchy performance, to be expected from a player who has been struggling for form in singles competition this year.
The Indian ace, who came into this match with a 7-6 record in 2009 till date, has failed to light up the tour despite getting off to a good start with a final appearance in the Pattaya Open in February.
In a bit of a see-saw first set, Sania served rather poorly, only getting 52% of her first serves in. Karatantcheva made Sania pay for missing all those first serves, winning 9 of 16 points of Sania's second serve, and setting up 6 break opportunities for herself. And though Sania did drop her serve on two occasions, she did break the Bulgarian's serve thrice to close out a tight opening set.
Though her first serve did continue to struggle right through the second set, Sania only conceded the one break point in it. Karatantcheva did however take advantage of it, but was broken twice by Mirza to seal the win.
Interestingly the two girls had played once before, with 14-year old Karatantcheva beating 17-year old Mirza in three close sets in 2004. Today, Mirza did square-up that old record!
http://saniamirzaindiaspride.blogspot.com/
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