Sania Mirza overcame a tough challenge from Austria's Sybille Bammer to book a berth in the final of the Bank of the West Classic tournament.
STANDFORD (USA): Sania Mirza overcame a tough challenge from Austria's Sybille Bammer to book a berth in the final of the Bank of the West Classic tournament.
In a hard-fought three-setter on Saturday, Sania, playing her first semifinal at a Tier II event, notched up a brilliant 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win against the Austrian.
This victory, which helped the Indian ace reach her first tour final in two years, is likely to take Sania into the top 30 of world ranking for the first time in her career.
In Sunday's final, Sania will take on top-seeded and seventh ranked Anna Chakvetadze of Russia, who rallied to beat third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 in the other semis clash.
Double delight was in store for Sania on Saturday. Playing as third seeds, the Hyderabadi and her Israeli partner Shahar Peer defeated Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-3, 6-4 to reach the doubles final as well.
However, her valiant effort to make the singles final brought more cheers for Sania and the Indian No. 1 attributed the success to her mental strength.
"I started to feel tired late in the second set, then I regrouped. It was all mental. I told myself to hang in there," she said after the gruelling encounter.
"It's a great start to the hardcourt season. I've had great wins here and I'm starting to hit the ball better," said the eighth seed.
Sania bagged the first set in quick time. But after that Bammer fought back and the match became a clash of intelligence and stamina.
With neither player willing to concede anything, the second set became an exciting affair with six of the first eight points coming as break points.
However, Bammer prevailed over Sania to draw parity and stretch the match to third set.
In the decider, the 35th-ranked Indian got a crucial break at 3-3 which ultimately propelled her to victory despite the late defiance from her opponent.
"Mental strength was the key. I have played in a lot of tournaments during the last two weeks, playing every day almost. Getting the break at 3-3 was crucial.
"I was getting defensive and hoping she would make mistakes. In the third set, I decided to play like I did in the first and become more aggressive again," Sania said after the 2 hours and 15 minutes battle.
The 22nd-ranked Bammer admitted that Sania played better to come out trumps.
"It was a close match but she played a little better today. She played very fast, took a lot of risks and that did not allow me to play my game. I had to risk a little more than usual as a result."
"I think she is one of the hardest hitters on the tour. I also think her footwork has improved a lot. She was injured last year and did not play in a lot of tournaments, but she has been playing so well this week," Bammer said.
Earlier in the tournament, Sania defeated sixth-seeded Tatiana Golovin and fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder to make the semifinals. It was the first occasion that she toppled two top-20 players in the same tournament.
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