Due to frequent injuries and the resulting surgeries, Mirza has chosen to play only doubles tennis for now and is confident that she will do well in next month's US Open, a tournament where she hasn't gone past the quarterfinals.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza rebuked the BBC commentator's comment on Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli’s looks saying, "One doesn't have to be good-looking, but just play good tennis."
She said that Bartoli proves that one doesn't have to follow any set norms in order to become a champion. "Bartoli did whatever suited her, she even trained differently and that's why she's a champion today," said Mirza, who is in Mumbai for a photo shoot for the cover of a tech and lifestyle magazine.
When asked what the difference between the two Wimbledon finalists — Bartoli and Sabine Lisicki — was, she said, "The experience Bartoli got from losing the 2007 Wimbledon finals helped her beat Lisicki as the latter was just overwhelmed by the occasion."
Mirza, who beat Bartoli at the US open in 2005, said that women's tennis has depth. "Unlike the men’s competition, the very fact that you don't see only certain women dominating all the tournaments only means that the competition is immense," she points out.
Due to frequent injuries and the resulting surgeries, Mirza has chosen to play only doubles tennis for now and is confident that she will do well in next month's US Open, a tournament where she hasn't gone past the quarterfinals.
"My body doesn't allow me to play singles now, but I'm training very hard and hopefully, I will get fit enough to play it again," she said.
Labelled controversy's child, Mirza has just finished writing her autobiography and is set to release it in the coming months. In the book, she talks about the many struggles she has had to face which comes with being India's highest ranked tennis player for almost a decade.
"The whole point of writing the book is to clarify certain things, because I've gone through many hardships and there has been a lot written about me that actually isn’t true and most of it isn’t fair either."
Technology, more often than not, has received a lot of flak in cricket, but Mirza believes that it's a boon for tennis.
She says, "With the hawk eye, the umpire can feel a little more relaxed as they know that even if they do make a mistake, it won't cost a player the match. Also, it's really beneficial for me as I tend to play close to the line and many times, calls don't go in my favour."
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