Sania Mirza loses to Vera Zvonareva 5-7 1-6 in the Pattaya Open but is positive about the coming season after a successful comeback.
It seems the year 2009 has a lot in store for Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza. She started the New Year with Grand Slam success by winning the Australian Open mixed doubles title with her partner Mahesh Bhupathi. And now, she made it to the final of the Pattaya Open, her fourth in a nine-year career.
The last time she entered the final of a WTA Tour was in Stanford, US, where she lost to Anna Chakvetadze of Russia.
However, she was unfortunate not to bag her second WTA Tour crown as she ran out of steam to go down 5-7 1-6 to world No. 5 and top seed Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in Pattaya on Sunday.
A ‘tired’ Sania, whose only WTA singles triumph has come at the Hyderabad Open in her breakthrough 2005 season, could survive for only one hour and 17 minutes before she fizzled out.
“I am happy. I have made a good start to my comeback. I am happy that I was able to carry the confidence of winning my 1st Grand Slam into my singles performance here. I feel better and better each week, “she told DNA from Pattaya.
Talking about her final match against Russia’s Zvonareva, a dejected Sania said, “No excuses but I just wish I was fresher. I had a long singles match on Saturday and then had to play the doubles. I felt tired.
“Zvonareva is a top 5 player in the world and I thought I matched her in the 1st set and with a bit of luck I could have won that. But I wasn’t able to raise my level in the 2nd to a top-5 game and Vera romped home,” she added.
Sania put up a good fight in the first set losing with a close 5-7 margin against her formidable Russian opponent. However, some unforced errors in pressure situations did Sania in.
The 22-year-old Hyderabadi said she was excited to play a singles Tour final after more than 18 months. “It’s been exciting to play a singles Tour final after nearly 18 months and it was after a long break for surgery and rehab that I got to play so many singles matches on the trot. Naturally, under the circumstances, it was a bit tiring in the intense heat of Pattaya, against stiff competition all through the week,” she added.
Sania felt that the kind of performance she has put in the Pattaya Open, making it to the finals, would certainly help her in the season ahead. “Yeah, it feels great to have played a final in only my second singles tournament on my comeback. It augurs well for the coming season,” she said.
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