Sania Mirza: Another feather in her cap

Sania Mirza: Another feather in her cap

Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis ace and youth icon has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award for her contribution to tennis on the eve of the Republic Day on Wednesday. The Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in India. The 19 year old tennis star was one of the six sportspersons on the list of Padma awardees announced by the Centre.

Sania Mirza is now among the youngest receipents of the Padma Shri award. Mirza was thrilled to hear the news. She said, "It’s a great honour and honestly I never expected it. I feel proud about this and once again reiterate that I will do my best to live up to the huge expectations."

Sania Mirza is the first Indian women tennis player to break in the top 50. She is currently ranked 32nd in the WTA ranking. She reached the 3rd round in the australian Open in 2005 and quickly made her presence felt as a upcoming star in the tennis circuit. She also became the first Indian woman to win a WTA event when she won the Hyderabad Open in 2005.

Sania Mirza though has not had the brightest of starts this year in context to her tennis results. She bowed out in the second round of the singles of the Australian Open and the doubles and the mixed doubles results were not good either. Hopefully this award would uplift her spirits for the upcoming events.

Yes. Sania Mirza Gets Padma Sri

Sania Mirza was conferred with the prestigious Padma Sri award for her contribution to tennis on the eve of the Republic Day on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old was one of the six sportspersons who got Padma awards today.

The others were Vijaypat Singhania (aviator), Bahadur Singh (shot putter), Madhumita Bisht (badminton player), MC Mary Kom (boxer), Mohan Singh Gunjyal (adventure sports).

Singhania got Padma Bhushan while others got Padma Sri.

Sania Mirza joins star-studded cast at Dubai Tennis Championships

Sania Mirza joins star-studded cast at Dubai Tennis Championships

Dubai,Jan.23rd, 2006 (WAM) -- Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza will return to the Dubai Tennis Championships, organisers Dubai Duty Free announced today.

Given a wild card for the 2005 Dubai Women's Open, Mirza returns to Dubai next month as a true superstar of the game and a genuine contender to take out the title.

She not only attracted sell out crowds in Dubai last year, the teenager backed up the expectations by claiming a stunning first round victory over the reigning US Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova.The Dubai Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and takes place under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The Dubai Tennis Championships has won a total of 12 ATP/WTA awards. These include the Tournament of the Year award from the WTA in 2001 following the inaugural Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, and the equivalent award from the ATP in 1998, 2003 and 2004 for the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open.

Padmasri Sania Mirza?

HYDERABAD: Tennis queen Sania Mirza is all set to add one more priceless possession to the impressive collection of laurels if the early hints are any indication. She can well become one of the youngest-ever recipients of the prestigious Padmasri award at the age of 18, but definitely the youngest from Andhra Pradesh, when the Presidential declaration is made soon.

The office of the President has asked the State Government to furnish it with the complete list of her achievements before taking a final decision. This is generally treated as a normal procedure but importantly if only the athlete's name is among the short-listed. Officially, the announcement is made before the Republic Day celebrations.

Apparently, what made Sania, who lost in the second round of the ongoing Australian Open, catch the imagination of one and all is the meteoric rise in the world rankings from No. 197 to No. 32 in the space of 12 months. Stunning achievement under any circumstances, particularly by an Indian.

Winner of the Hyderabad WTA Open last February and the first Indian woman to enter the fourth round of the US Open event after her third round appearance in the Australian Open in 2005, Sania has also just completed a two-week special training session with the great Australian coach Tony Roche to work more on improving her serve.

For the record, last few Padmasri awardees from the State include Sydney Olympics bronze medallist Karnam Malleswari, badminton star Pullela Gopi Chand, triple Olympian and hockey star N. Mukesh Kumar.

Sania Mirza: A dream come true

One year ago, she was a wildcard. Now India's first-ever WTA tournament winner Sania Mirza is a seeded player at the Australian Open. "It's amazing," the 19-year old told Eurosport ahead of her second round battle against Michaella Kraijcek, winner of her first tournament in Hobart last week.

"I remember being here as a wildcard and to be seeded here just a year later, I can't believe 12 months have passed, it's just so amazing," a smiling Mirza told us Tuesday ahead of her straight sets win over Bulgarian qualifier Victoria Azarenka.

The 32nd seeded Mirza prepared to face another rising teenager in Dutchwoman Kraijicek on Margaret Court Arena, one year the wiser from her first Melbourne campaign that saw the 19-year old reach the third round.

"I remember that I was really, really nervous for my first match on court, and then when I was playing [eventual champion] Serena, I was like frozen, but you know, I've come a long way since then."

Sania crashes out of Australian Open

Sania Mirza's campaign at the Australian Open was cut short in the second round by Dutch teenager Michaella Krajicek at the Melbourne Park on Thursday.

The 17-year-old Krajicek overcame an error-prone Sania 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 21 minutes.

Sania, who looked rusty in her first round match where she beat qualifier Victoria Azarenka 7-6, 6-2 on Tuesday, had 35 unforced errors to her name and was let down by her forehand against Krajicek.

Both the players had a weak serve and there were as many as six service breaks in the first set, which Krajicek won 6-3 in 29 minutes.

Though the players traded breaks in the second set to level it at 5-5, Krajieck, ranked 11 places below the Indian, raised her level in the last two games. Sania faltered with the return of serve and then dished out a poor service game herself to hand the Dutch player the second set 7-5.

Krajicek, sister of former Wimbledon champion Richard, was better prepared going into the Australian Open as she won the WTA event in Hobart last week.

Sania Mirza to face stiff competition in doubles

Sania Mirza and her American partner Corina Morariu face tough opponents in the opening round of the women’s doubles in the Australian Open, 2006. The duo will play Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Amelie Mauresmo of France. Kuznetsova and Mauresmo are seeded 14th in the tournament. Sania and her partner have been included in the second segment of the draw in this year’s Australian Open. The draw also contains the (2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15)th seeds.

Morariu, a former world No.1 in doubles, is ranked 11th in the WTA Doubles Rankings, while Sania is 109th. The American had won the Wimbledon title partnering Lindsay Davenport in 1999. The duo were runners-up at the Australian Open last year. On the other hand, Kuznetsova is 7th in the Doubles Rankings while Mauresmo occupies the 58th place.

The match is supposed to be an exciting one as Kuznetsova will try to avenge her defeat to the Indian ace at the Dubai Open last year. The match is scheduled to be played on Thursday, 19 January.

Sania meanwhile also has her singles match on the same day. Sania defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-6(8), 6-2 in the first round and will now face Michaella Krajicek of Russia.

Sania Mirza in Australian Open second round

Melbourne: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza Tuesday moved into the second round of the Australian Open tennis tournament with a convincing 7-6, 6-2 victory over junior world champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

She faces Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands in the second round.

Sania, who has been seeded 32nd at the Australian Open - the first Indian woman to make the mark in a Grand Slam event - occupies the same spot on the WTA ranking released Monday. This takes her two places above the 34 she was ranked before the tournament began.