Sania in semis, upsets top seed - Japan Open

Sania Mirza stormed into the semi-final of the USD 170,000 AIG Japan Open tennis championship today after upsetting the top seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia in a three-setter.
Sania, seeded eight, fought her way back after losing the first set 5-7 against the 22-ranked Russian to wrap up the next two 6-2 6-4.
She will now meet the winner of the quarter final contest between third seed Tatiana Golovin of France and Japan's Ai Sugiyama, seeded fifth.
Sania Mirza had yesterday defeated Aiko Nakamura 6-1 6-4 in the second round while Zvonareva beat Shahar Peer of France 6-3 7-5 to make it to the last eight.

“First” on her sleeve

Sania Mirza, 18 year old, tennis star from Hyderabad, has many “first” on her sleeve:

1. first ever Indian to break into the top-50 WTA rankings. ( career best WTA rank 34)
2. first Indian to reach the third round of Australian Open and thepre- quarters of the US Open.
3. became the youngest-ever Indian, male or female, to win a Tour event and the first woman from India to capture a WTA Tour title in the Hyderabad Open trophy in February 2005, defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
4. First Indian woman tennis player to get an ARJUNA award in 2005, for the year 2004.

Another ace: Sania Mirza features on Time cover

In another ace for teenage tennis icon, Sania Mirza, she became the first Indian sportswoman to feature on the cover of Time magazine and is being included in its 2005 list of Asia's heroes.
In the list of heroes, Sania shares the space with Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu, South Korean footballer Park Ji Sung and Japan's Ken Watanbe.
The tennis star, who has been described by the magazine as a role model for women in the country and the fastest rising star in the sport this year, features on the cover of the special issue of the magazine, which would hit the stands on Monday.