Sunday, September 2, 2007

Sania Mirza -at US Open 2007

Indian cricket team failed once again due to their poor over all performance. The stars as usual didn’t deliver when it matters most! I think it is a blessing in disguise to other sports.

Thanks to Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupati, Leander Pace Lawn Tennis got a good following and coverage in Inida especially after Sania Mirza. After an year of injuries and layoff from the play last year Sania bounced back this year and her inform performance this summer in US prior to US open was superb. For the first time she was given a seed (26) in US open and the draw was relatively easier one until 3rd round and if she could overcome the 3rd round hurdle there is an outer chance that she might get a berth in the semi final. This was the expectations until first round of US open.


In the first round she struggled a bit and won it after loosing a set. In the second round she won it with ease and booked her berth in the 3rd round match against 6th seed. I didn’t expect her to win as she lost to 20 year old Anna Chekvetadze from Russia twice last month. I thought at least she would put up a strong fight but she lost it tamely 6-2, 6-3 to the Russian.
Though she improvised her play it is not sufficient. Although now a days speed and power are the key elements in Tennis that doesn’t guarantee a win. One needs to mix the shots. Serve and volley, drop shots, net shots, very good services are important. Just the power and speed are no good. This was proved in the current US open itself. In both men and women’s matches most of the top 15 players struggled against their opponents who are lower in the rankings or no seeds.

In the match against Maria Sharapova who is a second seed player the 18 year old Polish and 30th-seed Radwanska demonstrated a good match. She sensed just how nervous Sharapova was and kept pressing her with hard returns and deep ground strokes and won. Another 20 year old Shahar Peer from Israel who was double partner to Sania was another example. She defeated the 7th rank player from Czech Republic 18 year old Vaidisova.



Shahar Peer

Amongst the future women’s tennis starts Sania Mirza has a long way to go to be in top 10 to make us all proud. Instead of focusing on her rankings she should focus on winning the matches and should come out with strategies on how to play against her opponents.

No comments: