Sania to lead Indian challenge in Fed Cup
NEW DELHI: There have been many cherished moments in her eventful tennis journey during the last decade but the enormity of becoming World No. 1 is such that Sania Mirza has been left with a “surreal feeling” even though she had always dreamt of achieving this feat.
In an extraordinary run with Martina Hingis, the Indian ace has not lost a match in the last three tournaments and with the title win in Charleston (US), she now sits atop the WTA ranking table in doubles.
She is only third Indian after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to scale the peak.
“I am really excited. It’s surreal feeling. It’s something I dreamt in my life, I am really excited to achieve it,” Sania said.
She has numerous firsts to her credit in her 12-year-long tennis journey so far. A journey which is laden with moments of success and despair.
Winning Grand Slams, being forced to quit singles to prolong her Pro career, there have been many such moments.
So after all those ups and downs, what exactly does no 1 rank mean to her?
“It means everything. It was a dream for everyone, for my family and my team. I feel privileged that I was able to achieve it and the way we did it in the last five weeks to have played our best tennis. I feel honoured and hope I go forward from here,” the 28-year-old, who has three Major titles in her kitty, said.
But there is “no time for celebration” for Sania and her team as she quickly gets ready to take a flight to Hyderabad where she has her next assignment in Fed Cup. “We have to go back to work. I an going to have Fed Cup and I am playing in Hyderabad after nine years. I have to pack bags and board the flight. No time for celebrations,” she is not complaining though. (PTI)
Hyderabad: India will be led by newly-crowned world number one Sania Mirza as 11 nations will strive to get promotion to Asia/Oceania Group I when the Fed Cup tennis competition begins here on Tuesday.
Since Iraq has opted out, 11 countries would compete in the Group II this year — India, Indonesia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pacific Oceania, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan.
Sania will be India’s playing-captain and it will be interesting to see if she plays singles. India’s No. 1 singles player Ankita Raina, Natasha Palha, and Prarthana G Thombare are the other members of the team.
The Fed Cup, launched in 1963, is the world’s largest annual international team competition in women’s sport, with 99 nations taking part in 2015.
The tournament which ends on April 18 would be held on Round-robin basis with four pools of three teams each. The winner of Pool A will play the winner of Pool C and the winner of Pool B will play the winner of Pool D in the first round of play-offs. The winners of those matches will play-off to determine which nation will be promoted to Group I for 2016.
Philippines and Singapore are in Pool A, Turkmenistan, Iran and Kyrgyzstan are in Pool B, while India, Malaysia and Pakistan are in Pool C and Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Pacific Oceania are in Pool D. (PTI)