Going Great

With a second round win over Eleni Daniilidou at the Acura Classic, Sania’s career is poised for a fresh take-off starting with a seeding at the year’s final Grand Slam — the US Open  

MUMBAI: India’s tennis princess Sania Mirza has virtually secured a second time feat of being the only seeded Indian at a Grand Slam. As the first ever Indian to be seeded when she was 32nd at the Australian Open last year, Sania also reignited her quest to break into the top-30 of the women’s singles.

Continuing with what is her best run so far in recent times, the Sania juggernaut entered the third round of the $ 1.3 million Acura Classic tournament, a Tier I event, with a straight-set win over Eleni Daniilidou on Wednesday. Currently 31st in the world, Sania now has safely defended her 42 points from the event when she lost out in the third round last year.

When she notched up a 7-6 (1) 6-3 win over her Greek opponent, Sania added 42 points to her kitty. The Hyderabadi next faces world No. 14 and eighth seed, Dinara Safina of Russia, in the pre-quarterfinals. “Even if she loses, I think she is through to the US Open,” reckons Indian women’s Fed Cup coach Enrico Piperno.

Ahead of the tournament, Sania’s father and the architect of the rise of India’s most successful woman tennis player on the rankings ladder, Imran Mirza, had reckoned that she will have to defend her points at the San Diego and the Forest Hills tournament which begins on August 26.

According to Piperno, though, the second tournament in question doesn’t matter. “The cut-off period for the US Open is two weeks before the tournament which should be by next Monday (when the fresh list of rankings will be released).”

The Forest Hills tournament, where Sania lost out in the second round last year, begins August 20 and won’t matter, Piperno explains. “If she beats Dinara Safina or wins anymore points, it will only be a bonus.”

A win against Safina could also pit Sania against former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova. But judging from the form that she is in and also to conserve her energy for the bigger battles ahead, Sania can afford to drop out of the two tournaments preceding the US Open — Los Angeles and Forest Hills — where she played last year. But she may also be tempted to gather as many points as she can to break into the top 20. “Her game has matured a lot. And I think the win over Akiko Morigami (in the first round at Stanford last week) gave her a lot of confidence. And she is a lot fitter thanks to the South African trainer.”

Though Sania has parted ways with trainer Heath Mathews, she is visibly fit, played back-to-back tournaments and emerged victorious in three out of four three-setters. 

“This is the ideal situation for her. She is doing well, gaining confidence and winning big points against better opponents. Her first serve percentage has increased and is now in a situation where she can stop worrying about just defending points,” feels Piperno.

 Sania has also improved her win-loss record from 14-10 to 22-12 post Wimbledon and into the hard court season. “Coming from injury, she did right to start on clay and gradually built up in confidence.”

The feel-good factor is apparent when Sania herself confessed that her current ranking of 31 had a more solid base than the first time. With 255 WTA points from two tournaments, she needs about 340 points more to enter the top 20 ring.

Having regrouped and plotted her career well after a two-month lay-off following the knee injury, Sania’s career is poised for another take-off.