Hanging on in top-50 is tough, says Sania Mirza

NEW DELHI: Sania Mirza has traversed the spectrum of media attention over the last two years. It has been quite a ride for the world No. 40.


After the initial euphoria of rocketing to a career-high world number 31 in October last year, reality has now begun to set in. “My aim for the year is to maintain my ranking in the top 50,� Sania was frank enough to say on the sidelines of launching her signature line with sponsor Lotto. “Hanging on in the top-50 is tough enough. At this level, you run into good players every week and the competition is far greater.�

The competition has indeed not let her get off that easy this year. Out of the eight tournaments she has turned up for, she is yet to get beyond the second round. In fact, she has exited four times in the first round since the 2006 Tour began.

The good bit is that Sania does not appear to be worried – after all, her higher ranking pits her into a different level of competition. “Everybody plays hard amongst the pros. It is a different level. I always knew that the second year would be tougher. It is far more difficult to jump from the top-40 to the top-20.â€?

The emphasis of the Sania camp has been on preparing the 19-year-old for the future rigours of the Tour. The beginning part of the year saw her implementing the technical changes incorporated by Tony Roche during a three-week clinic last December. The strokes still have to get match ready but the signs are favourable.

“My serve, which was not my strength in the past, has improved significantly. That was one of the key areas we were working on.�

The other aspect is fitness and keeping injuries in check. Her lean face sans some of her usual chubbiness and flat gut reflects the off court work while the coming three-week break should take care of the niggles that have been plaguing her.

In an effort to get used to the pace of the big girls Sania will now have the services of former Davis Cup player Asif Ismail. The hard-hitting Ismail has been roped in to serve more as a hitting partner. “John (Farrington) was a good coach but the need for now is to have someone I can practice with more.�

On the flip side, Sania has been doing fairly well in doubles. Of the seven tournaments played this year, she has won the tier III $175,000 Bangalore Open while more importantly made it to the finals of the tier II $600,000 event at Amelia Island.

That, in turn, has pushed her doubles ranking to world number 39. While in India, the Leander Paes — Mahesh Bhupathi legacy has given doubles quite an exalted position, it is actually singles that really matters on the big stage and fittingly enough Sania does not seem to have doubles as a priority just yet. “I am still to get a regular partner on Tour. In fact, I can’t remember playing more than two tournaments in a row with the same
partner.�