Sunfeast Update on Sania

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza and her top ranked partner Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain stormed into the semifinal of the $170,000 WTA Sunfeast Open tennis tournament here today.The fourth seeded Indo-Spanish duo made short work of unseeded pair of Sunitha Rao (USA) and Villmarie Castellvi (Puerto Rico) 6-1, 6-3 before a handful of spectators at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

Sweden needs a Sania: Wilander

Sweden's former Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander paid tribute to the Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza saying that his country also needs a player like her to get more women interested in the game.

"I have seen her in action at Wimbledon. She is aleady a good player on the tennis circuit and has potential to do even better. The more she works on her tennis the better it would be for her. She is playing amazing tennis."

Now, a chapter on Sania

A chapter on Sania will be taught in Chhattisgarh’s 285 state-owned madrassas, or seminaries, if a proposal by the state’s madrassa board is accepted. “We plan to introduce a chapter dedicated to Sania in the 285 madrassas of Chhattisgarh, where over 17,000 kids are enrolled for education in Classes 1 to 8,” board chairman Adil Hamid Khan said.

Sania magic bowls Manmohan over

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday that he was happy with the progress of tennis in the country, especially with the "storm" that Sania Mirza was creating.
"I am delighted that in recent years interest in tennis has increased among the youth of our country," Singh said after drawing lots for the Davis Cup world group play-off tie that begins in the capital on Friday.
He was particularly impressed with the storm unleashed by Sania, the world's 34th ranked player.
"I am sure the lovers of tennis are thrilled by the storm that the young lady Sania Mirza is creating all over the country," he said.
"She is inspiring young girls to take to sport and to fight for their due place in the brave new world they must all enter."

Sania Mirza loses in singles

Sania Mirza, India’s favorite and third seed, lost to Hungary’s Melinda Czink in the second round of the Sunfeast Open on September 21, at Netaji indoor stadium, Kolkata. Winning the first set in 6-0, Sania made crowd frenzy, but succumbed to the powerful forehand of Czink, in the next two sets and the 121-ranked Czink entered the quarterfinal defeating Sania 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Following the disappointing loss, Mirza said, “It was just one of those days. I started really well but she improved a lot in the second set. I managed to fight back well in the third set from 4-1, and the crowd really lifted me, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Some days you win these matches, some days you lose them. (Winning here) obviously wasn’t meant to happen this year. Hopefully I can come back next year and do better.”

Updates on the 1st Day of SunFeast Open 2005

Sania shouldn't give up her aggression: Coach

Sania Mirza's coach John Farrington on Tuesday averred that time management was the key to the 18-year old's success at the top level of tennis and that he did not want the Hyderabadi girl to cut down on her aggression.
"I don't want her to lose her aggression. We plan to work on this aspect of her game to tighten some loose ends, but I would like her to be aggressive," Farrington said.
The Bahamas-born coach said that he agreed with Mahesh Bhupathi's observation that Sania should go to the net more often. "I think she should attack the net more. This gives her an advantage as she goes towards the net and sends deep returns which puts her opponents on the defensive."
Mirza, sail into second round of Sunfeast Open tennis tournament
Third-seeded Sania Mirza of India advanced to the second round of the Sunfeast Open with easy victories Tuesday.
Mirza defeated Junri Namigata of Japan 6-2, 6-2
Short-skirt Sania finds support - Muslim leaders say they are ‘proud’ of 18-year-old
Muslim leaders today came out in support of the teen sensation from Hyderabad.
“We are proud of what Sania Mirza has achieved in her career so far. She has brought recognition to the country, especially in women’s tennis, which was neglected so far. Not a single reputed religious leader anywhere in the country has issued any fatwa against her.
“Islamic laws state that women should be properly dressed, but not a single progressive leader (has) ever thought of issuing any fatwa against her for turning up in skirts or shorts in court,” Maulana Syed Nizamuddin, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board general secretary,

Security v popularity

The unprecedented security cover for Sania Mirza has led to rather uncomfortable scenes at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, with spectators and the media being inconvenienced.
While, it can be understood that her security is of top-most priority, what defied logic was one of the publicity events held at the venue today.
The organisers had arranged for Sania to stand in one of the co-sponsors stalls at the venue, and she was to satisfy autograph hunters. A huge queue soon formed, some of it a bit unruly, and Sania patiently started to put her signature on. It’s true she was still surrounded by security, but naturally such close proximity to any crowd cannot rule out an untoward incident, specially when such a hue-and-cry was being made about keeping her “safe”.
Moreover, this event started at 4.30 pm and had not a heavy downpour started, would have gone on for some time. Sania had a match to play at 7 pm.

Sania craze leaves other women players high and dry

Sania Mirza may have attracted both the moolah and the media through her on-court exploits, but the hype surrounding the teenager has left other women players of the country feeling let down due to neglect and lack of corporate support. While appreciative of Sania's fast climb up the ranking ladder, Ankita Bhambri let her frustration known in an interaction with the media. "Sania has done very well for herself and made India proud. But there are others who are also trying," said the 19-year-old Ankita, who has crossed swords with Sania on a number of occasions in

Sania Mirza Second Most Sought After Search Query On Google And Yahoo

Sania Mirza, the tennis icon from India, is the second most-sought after search query from India on Google and Yahoo.
In Google Zeitgeist country wise ranking, Sania is the second most sought after query made from India during the recent US Open tournament. Sania even grabbed the ninth position in the ‘Top 15 Gaining Queries’ across countries as Googlers hit the Net to find more about the new rising face of tennis.
On Yahoo’s similar rating meter, called Yahoo Buzz, which provides comprehensive section wise ratings from its global search data, Sania crashed into the ‘Top 20 Sports Leaders’ category at rank 17 on September, just below David Beckham, gaining 31 ranks. She has been in the prestigious sports ‘Leaders’ ranking list for the sixth consecutive day along with basket ball legend Michael Jordan at the 10th position.

Sania holds on to 34th spot

Sania Mirza held on to her 34th spot in the latest WTA rankings despite suffering a first round loss at the tour event in Bali.

The teenage tennis sensation failed to add to the 888.75 WTA points she had compiled till last week after her run to the last 16 of the US Open where she lost to Russia's Maria Sharapova. She is the first Indian to advance so far in a Grand Slam event.

The 18-year-old Hyderabadi, who opens her campaign at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata tomorrow, is the third ranked Asian after Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Shuai Peng of China who hold the 32nd and 33rd spots respectively. Sania is seeded third in the Tier III WTA event.

She dropped down a place in the doubles rankings to 149th but has a chance to climb up the ladder when she teams up with the top ranked doubles player in the world , Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain, at the Sunfeast Open.

Shikha Uberoi has the next best singles ranking among Indians at 152, a drop of one spot. Rushmi Chakravarthi gained four places to reach 444 while Sanaa Bhambri held on to the 484th rank.

Sania Mirza eyes second WTA title

Idian tennis sensation Sania Mirza is hopeful her new-found confidence after a good showing in the U.S. Open can help her claim a second career WTA victory at the $170,000 Sunfeast Open next week.

"It was great to play the fourth round of the U.S Open. I'm feeling very good and I'm confident about my game," she said on Saturday. "The confidence goes up and you know you can match the best in the business."

The 18-year-old player, whose sensational run this year has lifted her to 34 in the world rankings, eventually lost to Russian Maria Sharapova at the U.S. Open.

Mirza faced a packed news conference at the indoor event in the eastern city of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. She has proved a huge draw with as many as 300 media accreditations issued.

Millions of fans are hopeful Mirza can emulate her success the last time she played at home, when she claimed her maiden WTA title at her hometown Hyderabad in February.

Mirza has not looked back since becoming the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a grand slam at the Australian Open in January.

"A lot has happened in a short period of time," she said. "No one expected this, but thank God.

"I knew it was going to happen, only it was a question of when. I'm thankful it happened sooner than later."

Mirza is seeded third behind Russia's 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina and her compatriot Elena Likhovtseva, both ranked among the top 20.

"Just because I won in Hyderbad doesn't mean I'm going to win here," she said. "This is a tougher tournament.

"I think people should start facing reality, they should start accepting the fact I'm going to lose matches."

An attacking player with a fierce forehand, she has struggled for consistency and both her serve and mobility have been affected by a stomach muscle injury and a troublesome ankle.

However, Mirza said she will not change here style.

"That is the way I play. I'm just going to go for broke," she said. "I'm going to have a lot of unforced errors, but I compensate that with winners."

Security has been tightened at the event after an Islamic group opposed to Mirza's on-court dress threatened to prevent her from playing.