Sania Mirza sails into US Open 2nd round

NEW YORK: India’s Sania Mirza made short work of Croatia’s Karolina Sprem, ranked 51, by demolishing her 6-4 6-2 in a match that lasted one hour and 15 minutes. With overcast skies and a strong wind, Mirza seemed in a sensible hurry to wrap up things before the rain gods played spoilsport. She began hitting the ball hard from the get-go and broke Sprem’s serve thrice in the first and second sets.

Surprisingly, nerves seemed to get the better of tour veteran Sprem who has played three US Opens. She double-faulted four times and made some 33 unforced errors. Sprem remarked after the match that Mirza unsettled her and did not allow her to find her rhythm by constantly charging the net and unleashing powerful forehand strokes. Mirza cruised to the fourth round of the US Open last year and came into Flushing Meadow as the player whose world ranking had shot up the fastest of anyone on the WTA tour rocketing from 326 to 42 — a stunning 284 places. But 2006 has been a struggle for her — her rankings slipped to 44 in early August. On Monday, Mirza entered the US Open downgraded to 54. Does it bother her?

In the run-up to the US Open, Mirza told DNA that she wanted to be in the top 50 by the end of the year. “But it is not like I tell myself everyday that I have to be in the top 50.”

But Mirza is stung at being knocked out of the table of top 50 tennis players in the world. So on Monday she did the sensible thing. She let her tennis racquet do the talking at the US Open.