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| Sunday, 4 December 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The rising star - Sania Mirza
Our heroine, Sania Mirza was born on November 15, 1986 in Mumbai, India. She is a devout Muslim. Coached by her father, Imran Mirza, Sania began playing tennis at the age of six. She turned professional in 2003. She became the first and only Indian woman to reach the 4th round of a Grand Slam tournament at the 2005 US Open. She is now the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India (She had a rank of 31, by October 2005). Her original goal was to enter the top 100 by the end of 2005, but she revised it to entering the top 50 after good performances at the beginning of the year. As of July 2005, she ranked 5th among Asian women. Her year-end rank in 2004 was 206. "My mother took me to a coach, who initially refused to coach me because I was too small," says Mirza. "After a month, he called my parents to say he'd never seen a player that good at such a young age." She has earned a large fan following in India. In 2005, she was awarded the Arjuna award in tennis for the year 2004. She has defeated two top 10 players, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova. Sania won the Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title in 2003, teaming up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia. She got a wild card entry to the 2005 Australian Open and created history by becoming the first Indian woman to enter the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. She lost in the 3rd round to eventual champion Serena Williams. On February 12, 2005, she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine in the Hyderabad Open Finals. *** Career highlights for 2005 * 2005 US Open: reaches 4th round by defeating Marion Bartoli of France in straight sets (7-6(4), 6-4); Voted Best Player of the Day on the 3rd day for winning her 2nd round match despite bleeding toes. * 2005 Forest Hills Women's Tennis Classic, New York: reaches her second WTA final, but fails to win. * 2005 Acura Classic: upsets Nadia Petrova in 2nd round but loses in the third round to Akiko Morigami of Japan (2-6,6-4,4-6). By beating the 8th-ranked Petrova, she breaks into top 50 in world rankings for the first time ever. * 2005 Dubai Tennis Championships: 2nd Round: Upset reigning US Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals. * 2005 Hyderabad Open singles: Won the tournament defeating Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the final and became the first Indian woman to capture a WTA singles title. * 2005 Australian Open singles: 3rd round: Became first Indian woman to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam tournament. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
A teenager from our neighbouring country India has started to dominate
the world of tennis. You must have read about the budding tennis player
already, because it's not only the tennis world she is dominating - she is
in magazine covers, newspaper and of course television. 
