After Ostrava triumph, Sania & Zhang to play in Chicago tourney
Hyderabad: The indomitable Sania Mirza is making every moment count. That she is still winning laurels, in the dusk of her career, proves she has more to offer and more to achieve. The 34-year-old “super mom” gifted her little son Izhaan, who was away with his aunt in the USA, her 43rd career women’s doubles […]
Hyderabad: The indomitable Sania Mirza is making every moment count. That she is still winning laurels, in the dusk of her career, proves she has more to offer and more to achieve.
The 34-year-old “super mom” gifted her little son Izhaan, who was away with his aunt in the USA, her 43rd career women’s doubles title when she won the WTA 500 Ostrava Open tennis tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic on Sunday partnering Shuai Zhang of China.
The Hyderabadi tennis stalwart is as passionate about being on the top of her game as she was in her prime. She still has it in her and it should not surprise anyone if she crosses 50 titles soon. The gutsy spirit in her game is still evident. The fire still burns in her to accomplish more glory. Thanks to the latest win, Sania has improved her ranking 62 and can enter in most of the tournaments without special ranking
The partnership with Zhang is just two tournaments old and the Indo-Chinese pair bagged a title in their second venture itself. Prior to the Ostrava tournament, the pair lost a close quarterfinal match in Luxembourg. Sania and Zhang will play in two more tournaments at Chicago and Indiana Wells. The Chicago Falls Open tournament has already started and Sania will play her first match on Wednesday.
Imran Mirza, who is in Hyderabad, said that Zhang had wanted to play with Sania for a long time now. “But somehow it could not work. Sania had always beaten Zhang and the last one being in the Hobart tournament last year. Zhang has a huge respect for Sania. Even in the recent tournament in Cleveland before the US Open, Sania and Christina McHal beat Czech Republic’s Hradecka and Zhang.’’
Although Sania and Zhang are not natural partners, they have adjusted nicely. “For instance, Martina (Hingis) had volleys while Sania used to hit from behind. Here both play better from the behind. The volleys are not their base strengths. But they have worked out their strategy.’’
On future partnership with Zhang, Imran said the picture is still not clear. “Zhang and Samantha Stosur won the US Open doubles recently. So it is not clear whether Sania will play with Zhang for a full circuit as Stosur is also in the mix.’’
At 34, Sania still has the hunger for success because of her passion for the game. “She loves to be on the court and she loves competing. That is something that is God’s gift. She wants to make a point that as a mother she can win titles. She got support from us and Shoaib Malik,’’ added Imran.
Imran pointed out that it needs loads of hard work to play at this level, particularly after motherhood. “It was not easy. The kind of physical training she does is amazing. In fact when she was pregnant, she stopped watching tennis as it hurt her for not being on the court. That is the kind of the passion she has for the game.’’
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