Sania Mirza is celebrating her 34th birthday and wishes poured in from all over the world, especially from India and Pakistan.
Sania Mirza is considered as the ultimate icon for tennis in India. Sania has won six Grand Slam titles in her career. From 2003 until her retirement from singles in 2013, she was ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as India's No. 1 player. Throughout her career, Mirza has established herself as by far the most successful Indian female tennis player ever and one of the highest-paid and most high-profile athletes in the country. In her singles career, Mirza had notable wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, and Marion Bartoli, as well as former world No. 1s Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina, and Victoria Azarenka. She is the highest-ranked female player ever from India, peaking at world No. 27 in mid-2007.
In 2005, Mirza was crowned the WTA Newcomer of the year, and in 2015 she and Martina Hingis were the doubles team of the year, and later had a 44-match winning streak, one of the longest in history. She has also won a total of 14 medals (including 6 gold) at three major multi-sport events, namely the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Afro-Asian Games. Mirza was named one of the "50 Heroes of Asia" by Time in October 2005. In March 2010, The Economic Times named Mirza in the list of the "33 women who made India proud". On the occasion of her 34th birthday, here are some of the wishes and achievements of Sania Mirza
1. Happy Birthday Sania Mirza
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Sania Mirza is considered as the ultimate icon for Indian tennis. When she married Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik, it was unprecedented as Indo-Pak relations were given a totally new dimension. Her fan following in Pakistan was already high as well as in India and this marriage made her the ultimate symbol of unity in troubled times. Despite facing a lot of hardships, this relationship has blossoemed into something beautiful. Here is Pakistan cricketer Hassan Ali wishing Sania Mirza Happy Birthday. (Image credit: Hassan Ali Twitter)
Happy birthday @MirzaSania bhabi pic.twitter.com/N6pMbKIRqQ
— Hassan Ali (@RealHa55an) November 15, 2020
2. Happy Birthday Sania Mirza
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Sania Mirza's appeal as a tennis icon transcends all sports in India. Here, Suresh Raina has wished Sania Mirza and shared a throwback photo in which Sania is with him, his wife Priyanka, Hazelle Keech. (Image credit: Suresh Raina Twitter)
Happy birthday @MirzaSania. Sending you lots of love & happiness from us. Best wishes always.pic.twitter.com/SwzEYN2wL0
— Suresh Raina(@ImRaina) November 15, 2020
3. Happy Birthday Sania Mirza
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Yuvraj Singh has also shared his birthday wishes for Sania Mirza, with the former India batsman sharing a throwback photo of him with Sania.
Happy birthday mirchie mommy @MirzaSania! Hope you have an “ace” of a year ahead! Loads of love always pic.twitter.com/wPJVE1nqzs
— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) November 15, 2020
4. Happy Birthday Sania Mirza
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Sania Mirza’s greatest success was pairing up with Swiss legend Martina Hingis. The pair entered Indian Wells as the top seeds and went on to win the titles in their debut. They beat opponents including former world number ones Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. Hingis and Mirza didn't lose more than four games in any set. After cruising through the first set of the final, they fell behind in the second set but won the next four games to beat second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in straight sets. They also won the Miami masters event, again beating the same opponents. Mirza jumped two places on the Ranking table to be ranked at her career best No. 3 in the Doubles Rankings.The duo then entered the Miami Open and went to beat the same opponents in the finals making it their second title in as many tournaments.
The pair did not lose a single set at the tournament, making the set score 20–0 for their newly formed partnership. Before reaching the finals at Miami the pair beat Elena Bogdan and Nicole Melichar, Gabriela Dabrowski and Alicja Rosolska, Anastasia Rodionova and Arina Rodionova, and 7th seeds Tímea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic. They overcame Vesnina and Makarova in the finals in straight sets. Mirza and Hingis won Family Circle Cup's double title in April 2015 defeating Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak and with the title win Mirza became the first Indian to be ranked world No. 1 in WTA's doubles rankings. It was Mirza and Hingis' third successive title win and they have not lost as a single match since joining forces, winning 14 matches in a row. (Image credit: Twitter)
5. Happy Birthday Sania Mirza
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Mirza and Hingis won the Wimbledon Championships, defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in three tough sets in the final. After splitting two very close sets against two-time Grand Slam champions Makarova and Vesnina, Hingis and Mirza – who were playing just their second Grand Slam together – fell behind in the third set were a game away from going out. But a fierce rally saw them draw level at 5-all, and after a half hour break for the Centre Court roof to be closed due to fading light, the No. 1-seeded Swiss-Indian duo came out stronger, breaking the No. 2-seeded Russians one last time and then serving it out for a gritty victory. The win gave Mirza her first Grand Slam title in Women's Doubles and Hingis her tenth.
Mirza and Hingis kicked off their 2016 WTA Tour in Australia by winning the tournaments in Brisbane and Sydney. In the Australian Open they were seeded first and won the Doubles title which was Mirza's third Grand Slam title. (Image credit: Twitter)
