Monday, December 26, 2005

Sania Mirza rises as one of India's biggest sporting icons


2005 will go down as a watershed year in the history of Indian tennis as teenage prodigy Sania Mirza burst on the scene and injected fresh blood into a
sagging sport.

Sania single-handedly achieved what the past and current men's champions — the Krishnans and the Amritrajs, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi — had not been able to for decades: make tennis a popular game and make a dent in cricket's supremacy as the number one sport in India. Also, her powerful groundstrokes caught the tennis world's attention.

The 19-year-old recorded many firsts by an Indian in women's tennis while proving herself to be a genuine world beater. A leap of 175 places to reach a career high 31 in world rankings, a seniors' title, victory over two top-10 players and reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam — a spectacular start to what should be a long and colourful career.

Sania's rise began with a default wild card into the Australian Open main draw in January. She grabbed the opportunity by advancing to the third round where she put up a gallant effort while going down to former world number one and Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

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