India No. 1 women’s tennis player Sania Mirza kept the hopes of fans back home alive by venturing into the next round of the women's doubles quarter-finals even as the country's challenge ended in the men's doubles with the defeat of Rohan Bopanna and his partner Rajeev Ram in the second round of ATP-WTA Sony Open, in Miami.
Sania had a dream run this season after she claimed a couple of titles along with Bethanie including the recent one, Dubai Open. Though the gritty Hyderabad girl could not make enough waves in recent times, she was able to play at her best this year with her new partner from United States.
In fact, it was Sania and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands who overcame a fighting pair of Jarmila Gajdosova and Sabine Lisicki 6-1 3-6 10-7 in the second round. Putting up a spirited display, the Indo-US pair won a close contest. The win must have relieved off all the pressures upon her until now.
After getting married to Pakistan high profile cricketer Shoaib Malik, her fans were disappointed as it was touted that she might bid adieu to tennis. However, she is not one of those who give up easily as she not only started playing active tennis but also started to concentrate upon other events as well. Making headway into the social circuit was top on her agenda.
Recently, the Andhra Pradesh government offered her the land so that she could start her own tennis academy, which she says that it was her dream to train youngsters. Training camps at the academy are almost kicked off with the facilities almost ready to offer the youngsters necessary facilities in order to train better.
As far as her current schedule is considered, Sania-Bethanie combo will now fight it out with Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci for a place in the semifinals. The perfect understanding between those two is evident on the field as they both play in good tandem. Hopefully, this duo will continue their tremendous performance to a further extent for sure.
Earlier, the Indian ace teamed up with several other international stars such as Flavia Pennetta, but none of the pairs was successful. One of the reasons might be also due to the fact that she lost her rhythm due to the fact that she frequently has got to change partners.
Sania shares a great rapport with Bethanie and she invited the American to the launch of a coffee café recently. Giving her best always is something that Sania wants who is settled in Dubai now along with her husband. In the men's doubles second round, unseeded Bopanna and Ram were knocked out by formidable second-seeded pair of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-4 7-6(5).
Somdev Devvarman was floored by world number one Novak Djokovic in the men's singles while Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had exited from the doubles after suffering second-round defeats with their respective partners.
After a string of losses faced by Indians, it is Sania’s win that comes as a whiff of fresh air.
