Indian sensation Sania Mirza is confident she has conquered injury problems that dogged her progress this year and is ready to climb back up the world rankings.
PERTH: Indian sensation Sania Mirza is confident she has conquered injury problems that dogged her progress this year and is ready to climb back up the world rankings.
Mirza shook off her first singles loss since October, at the mixed teams Hopman Cup here on Saturday, saying she pleased with her overall performance and was geared up for 2008.
"On the whole, I feel pretty good," the 21-year-old said.
"My main goal is to stay healthy for the whole year because last year (2007) I missed three or four months and that is like taking half the season away.
"I'd like to stay healthy and play the whole season - hopefully I'll just keep moving up (the rankings).
"The rankings will take care of themselves if you are doing the right thing," she said.
Mirza suffered a range of injuries this year, including wrist and abdominal problems, and had surgery on her right knee in March.
Despite the setbacks, she used her trademark powerful forehand to notch wins over world number 16 Patty Schnyder and former world number one Martina Hingis as well as others, and reached the final at Stanford. She soared to a career-high ranking of 27 in August before finishing the season at 31.
Mirza, the first Indian woman to reach the top 50, said her game was in good shape and she was satisfied with her overall results this year.
"I was injured and I had surgery and came back after three months," she said. "I started playing really well in the summer in America and it gave me a lot of confidence, beating top players every week.
"It was one of my best years, because I did reach my highest ranking and I felt like I was hitting the ball better than ever."
Mirza lost her first Hopman Cup singles, a two-and-a half hour three-set marathon against 52nd-ranked American Meghann Shaughnessy.
The Indian led 3-1 in the deciding set, but dropped the last five games of the match after suffering cramp which restricted her movement.
"It had been a while since I played a match, I think it was in October," she said. "Meghann has been a top 20 player and is a great player.
"I am happy with the way I played, it was a little up and down but I think you have to expect that at the beginning of the season."
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