Sania Mirza looking beautiful at a event to promote cadbury

Sania slips in rankings

Calcutta: Tennis sensation Sania Mirza slipped 13 places to 88 in the WTA singles rankings, released on Monday. In the doubles ranking she lost 9 places to stand at 72.

Serena Williams of the US remains on top of the singles rankings, followed by Dinara Safina of Russia and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.

In the ATP doubles rankings, Leander Paes replaced Mahesh Bhupathi in the number six position. Paes now has 6940 points, 15 more than seventh-placed Bhupathi.

Rohan Bopanna moved to 72 with 1705 points after gaining three spots. In the singles, Somdev Dev Varman continued to be India’s highest ranked player at 150.

RANKINGS

(Previous week’s in bracket)

Men: 1. (1) Rafael Nadal (Esp) 14360 pts; 2. (2) Roger Federer (Sui) 11000; 3. (3) Novak Djokovic (Srb) 9420; 4. (4) Andy Murray (GBR) 7400; 5. (5) Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 4955; 6. (6) Andy Roddick (US) 4440; 7. (7) Juan Martin del Potro (Arg) 4290; 8. (8) Gilles Simon (Fra) 3925; 9. (10) Gael Monfils (Fra) 3550; 10. (9) Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 3330.

Women: 1. (1) Serena Williams (US) 9982 points; 2. (2) Dinara Safina (Rus) 9021; 3. (3) Jelena Jankovic (Srb) 8400; 4. (4) Elena Dementieva (Rus) 7886; 5. (5) Venus Williams (US) 7092; 6. (6) Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 6320; 7. (7) Ana Ivanovic (Srb) 5414; 8. (8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 4953; 9. (9) Nadia Petrova (Rus) 3882; 10. (10) Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 3448.

source: Calcutta telegraph

Sania advances to 2nd round of Australian Open

Melbourne, Jan 19 (PTI) Sania Mirza survived a late onslaught from world number 61 Marta Domachowhska to set up a second-round clash with Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova in the women’s singles of the Australian Open, here today. The unseeded Indian battled past the Pole 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. Nadia beat Kazakhstan Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 7-6 (3) in her opening round match. Sania, playing her first singles match of the season after a long injury-lay off, was happy with her comeback match. “It was a great way to begin after such a long break. I’ve not played a match in
almost six months now. I’m just happy to have come through,” she said after the match. Sania raced away with the first set in just 25 minutes, breaking the Polish player thrice. The Indian led 2-0 in the second set before Marta stepped on the gas, winning four games on the trot, breaking Sania in the third and fifth games. From a comfortable 2-0, Sania found herself trailing 2-4 in no time. Under pressure, the 22-year-old Hyderabadi got her act together and went on to win the next four games to seal the issue. Sania broke Marta in the eighth and 10th games in the process. Sania had lost to Marta in 2003 in their first meeting and now the head-to-head record stands at 1-1. PTI

Future tense for Sania Mirza

Any appraisal of Indian tennis is incomplete without the baffling phenomenon that is Sania Mirza. In a year that saw her surpass $1 million in career prize money earnings (the first Indian woman ever to achieve the feat), a doctorate from Madras University, numerous appearances with Bollywood personalities and countless endorsements, she continues to plummet to new depths in her career.

From the high of No 27 in the year before last, 2008 saw Sania sink without a trace.
If quarterfinals at Hobart can be called a high, then that’s about the lone bright spot in a year marred with multiple layoffs due to right wrist strain, adductor strain, cramping and total nervous breakdown that led to deep depression. She dropped out of the top 100 for the first time since 2005.

In an era when supreme fitness is the name of any game, Sania’s battle seems uphill.

Elsewhere, sporting brilliance continues to be overshadowed by petty-minded politicking. After successfully leading India in two consecutive Davis Cup (Asia/Oceania zone) rubbers over Uzbekistan and Japan, Leander Paes stepped down as captain owing to a players’ revolt engineered to a large extent by his estranged partner, Mahesh Bhupathi, and with two ageing youngsters at the forefront. India lost the World Group play-off that was to follow against Romania 1-4.

Among the silver linings, it was the rise of young Somdev Devvarman, touted by the likes of former Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar as the “future Indian No.1 and the anchor of Davis Cup campaign.”

In the twilight of their careers and fighting to stay in shape among a generation of super fit athletes, Paes and Bhupathi provided us the most enduring moments. Yet again.

The old warhorse Paes bagged the US Open mixed doubles crown with Cara Black and went within two points of claiming the doubles title with Lukas Dlouhy in the same tournament. The eight-time Grand Slam winner has now set his sights on London Olympics. Critics have eaten crow before for not taking him seriously.

Ditto Bhupathi. Despite being a successful businessman, the 10-time Grand Slam winner still has enough motivation to bag three more ATP Tour titles with Bahaman partner Mark Knowles.

That’s all very well and a tribute to their insatiable hunger to win, but the Indian kitty seems threadbare otherwise.

Sania Mirza On the Cover of Cosmopoliton Magazine

sania mirza has been in the recent visiting the fashion shows and now she is on the cover of the cosmopoliton magazine. Thought she seems to be dropping constantly in her rankings and failing to win or have had a proper game in last few months due her injuries she definitely is not dropping in her fan base.

Sania has a new Aussie physical trainer

Sania Mirza, the injured Indian tennis star, whose painful wrist condition consigned her to the sidelines for the better of the summer of 2008, has tied up with reputed trainer Amir Takla in a bid to bounce back into competitive mode.

The Hyderabadi will initially work with the heavyweight Aussie for a six-week period, starting September 2. Sania injured her right wrist during the Indian Wells tournament in late March, necessitating surgery in Miami in April.

The 21-year-old, who reached a career-high ranking of 27 in August 2007, missed the French Open and though she played the grasscourt season, struggled with her game for most part.

Sania then went on to play tournaments in Stanford, Los Angeles and Stockholm before her painful wrist condition forced her out of the first round singles match at the Beijing Olympics. She later pulled out of the US Open. She has since been advised three weeks of rest.

“I am determined to sort out this niggling problem once and for all,” Sania told TOI. “I’m a positive person and I feel confident of a speedy recovery under the guidance of Amir, whose knowledge and experience is unquestionable.”

Takla, a musculoskeletal and sport physiotherapist, is consultant to Tennis Australia and the Grand Slam of the Asia Pacific – the Australian Open. He specialises in strength training and injury prevention and management.

Sania first ran into the Aussie at the Australian Open earlier in the year, when he treated her after she tore her adductor muscle en route to the mixed doubles final. He was largely responsible in getting her back on her feet to play the final.

Sania’s father Imran, said: “The main aim is to strengthen the wrist, and bring it to its earlier condition and level of performance. The rest of her body also needs to be strengthened. We are looking at Sania playing a few tournaments later in the year to prepare for the Australian Open.”

The break from competition should give the Indian a chance to work on her overall fitness. Should she regain the control and strength on her forehand, which was the reason she went under the knife earlier in the year, she will forge a new threat in the coming season.

Sania Mirza and Yuvraj together at Jack Jones Launch | Sania Mirza and Yuvraj Gallery