Sports India

Giant slaying Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza will take on Jelena Jankovic of Serbia-Montenegro in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open tennis championship here Thursday.

The 97th ranked Sania has never played the 20-year old Jankovic, who is ranked 28th in the world. The 18-year old Hyderabad girl has had a better year with a 10-2 win record compared with Jankovic’s 7-5.

Mirza has had a dream run this year. She first advanced to the third round of the Australian Open, losing to eventual winner Serena Williams. She then won the Hyderabad Open Feb 13, the first Indian to win a WTA event.

The victory also saw her breaking into the top 100 of women’s rankings.

Sania Mirza pulled off the biggest win of her fledgling career when she upset world number 7 and US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 and moved into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open women tennis championship on Tuesday.

Sania, a wild card entrant, showed great character and played some solid tennis to upset her much higher ranked opponent in the second round of the high-profile tournament being played at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

Sania underlined her potential against Kuznetsova, recovering from a shaky start to produce a supremely confident performance.

The match initially looked like being a major embarrassment for Sania, who attracted nearly 5,000 spectators consisting mainly of expat workers to the centre court.

She lost the first game to love in 42 seconds as the fourth-seeded Russian fired two aces, and fell behind 4-0 after suffering an ankle injury.

She received several minutes of treatment but double-faulted twice at 3-0 as she experienced problems serving.

“My ankle was killing me,” said Mirza. “It was the third time it has happened in the last three weeks. I was actually crying because I was in so much pain.

“But I took a pain killer and I think it took a couple of games for me to get used to the taping, and the pain killers started working 15 or 20 minutes after that.”

The match turned dramatically, however, when Sania banished her nerves and began to hit the ball sweetly from all angles.

After winning six straight games to take the first set Sania continued to grow in confidence and forcing a forehand error from Kuznetsova to break in the first game of the second set.

Although the Russian immediately broke back to level at 1-1, she failed two win three game points in the next game before Sania broke again.

Urged on by the boisterous crowd, Sania continued to pound the ball at every opportunity and her efforts were rewarded with the best win of her career.

Kuznetsova said she had been caught cold in her first match of the tournament.

“I had pressure and couldn’t get into the games,” Said Kuznetsova. “She was playing great, but I didn’t do what I had to do.

“I didn’t attack at all. I had to make her play more points and I had to make her move. I still have so much to learn.

“It’s a big upset but I’ll try to keep my head up and still work hard.”

Sania will face 28th seed Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinal. Jankovic beat Silvia Farina of Italy 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

In other matches, Daniela Hantuchova took advantage of some uncharacteristic errors from sixth seeded Australian Alicia Molik to win 7-6, 6-2, while Elena Likhovtseva needed nine match points and two hours 38 minutes to overcome Tunisia’s Selima Sfar 2-6, 6-2, 7-6.

Seventh seed Nathalie Dechy of France struggled before edging past Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, and Na Li of China beat Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 1-6, 7-6, 6-2.

NDIA`S tennis sensation, Sania Mirza, rallied superbly to upset world number 34 Jelena Kostanic of Croatia in the first round of the $ 585,000 Dubai Open Tennis tournament in Dubai on Monday.

The 18-year-old, one of the three wild card entrants in the competition, came back after losing the first set to beat the Croatian 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 in just over two hours.

Sania, who created history by becoming the first Indian to win a WTA tour title at her hometown Hyderabad last month, will now face US Open champions and fourth seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the second round.

French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was stunned 6-4 6-2 by 18-year-old Indian sensation Sania Mirza in the Dubai Open second round on Tuesday.

Mirza is attaining film star status in her homeland after becoming the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in Melbourne last month. She was also the first Indian to win a WTA Tour event, in Hyderabad.

Mirza further underlined her potential against Kuznetsova, recovering from a shaky start to produce a supremely confident performance.

The match initially looked like being a major embarrassment for Mirza, who attracted nearly 5,000 spectators consisting mainly of expat workers to the centre court.

She lost the first game to love in 42 seconds as the fourth-seeded Russian fired two aces, and fell behind 4-0 after suffering an ankle injury.

She received several minutes of treatment but double-faulted twice at 3-0 as she experienced problems serving.

The match turned round dramatically, however, as Mirza banished her early nerves and began to hit the ball sweetly from all angles.

Her forehand was especially damaging, and she struck several winning returns against the world number six.

After winning six straight games to take the first set Mirza continued to grow in confidence, pumping her fist and forcing a forehand error from Kuznetsova to break in the first game of the second set.

Although the Russian immediately broke back to level at 1-1, she failed two win three game points in the next game before Mirza broke again.

Urged on by the boisterous crowd, Mirza continued to pound the ball at every opportunity and her efforts were rewarded with a superb crosscourt forehand winner that gave her a further break to lead 5-2.

After a brief wobble as she fell behind 0-40, Mirza then closed out the best win of her career after setting up match point with a double-handed winner down the line.

U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia lost in the second round of the Dubai Open on Tuesday, a 6-4, 6-2 defeat to wild card Sania Mirza.

Mirza, who last month became the first Indian woman to win a WTA Tour title, is ranked No. 97. Kuznetsova, the world No. 7, was last year’s Dubai runner-up and had a first-round bye.

Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated sixth-seeded Alicia Molik of Australia 7-6 (8), 6-2. Molik was the Qatar Open runner-up last weekend.

“She was serving so well,” Hantuchova said. “I just decided to hang in there and keep fighting. I gradually gained good rhythm on my returns and began reading her serves.”

Hantuchova will play Elena Likhovtseva in the second round. The Russian player needed nine match points to down Selima Sfar of Tunisia 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Sfar became the first Arab woman to reach a WTA Tour quarter-finals at this tournament in her 2001 debut.

Seventh-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France beat Vera Douchevina of Russia 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-6 (4); qualifier Na Li of China upset Ai Sugiyama of Japan 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2; Elena Bovina of Russia defeated Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; and Jie Zheng of China topped Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 7-6 (4), 6-2.

U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was stunned 6-4 6-2 by 18-year-old Indian Sania Mirza in the Dubai Open second round on Tuesday.

Mirza is attaining film star status in her homeland after becoming the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam in Melbourne last month. She was also the first Indian to win a WTA Tour event, in Hyderabad.

Mirza further underlined her potential against Kuznetsova, recovering from a shaky start to produce a supremely confident performance.

The match initially looked like being a major embarrassment for Mirza, who attracted nearly 5,000 spectators consisting mainly of expat workers to the centre court.

She lost the first game to love in 42 seconds as the fourth-seeded Russian fired two aces, and fell behind 4-0 after suffering an ankle injury.

She received several minutes of treatment but double-faulted twice at 3-0 as she experienced problems serving.

“My ankle was killing me,” said Mirza. “It was the third time it has happened in the last three weeks. I was actually crying because I was in so much pain.

“But I took a pain killer and I think it took a couple of games for me to get used to the taping, and the pain killers started working 15 or 20 minutes after that.”

The match turned dramatically, however, when Mirza banished her nerves and began to hit the ball sweetly from all angles.

After winning six straight games to take the first set Mirza continued to grow in confidence and forcing a forehand error from Kuznetsova to break in the first game of the second set.

Although the Russian immediately broke back to level at 1-1, she failed two win three game points in the next game before Mirza broke again.

Urged on by the boisterous crowd, Mirza continued to pound the ball at every opportunity and her efforts were rewarded with the best win of her career.

Kuznetsova said she had been caught cold in her first match of the tournament.

“I had pressure and couldn’t get into the games,” Said Kuznetsova. “She was playing great, but I didn’t do what I had to do.

“I didn’t attack at all. I had to make her play more points and I had to make her move. I still have so much to learn.

“It’s a big upset but I’ll try to keep my head up and still work hard.”

In other matches, Daniela Hantuchova took advantage of some uncharacteristic errors from sixth seeded Australian Alicia Molik to win 7-6 6-2, while Elena Likhovtseva needed nine match points and two hours 38 minutes to overcome Tunisia’s Selima Sfar 2-6 6-2 7-6.

Seventh seed Nathalie Dechy of France struggled before edging past Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina 6-7 6-4 7-6, and Na Li of China beat Japan’s Ai Sugiyama 1-6 7-6 6-2.

After Melbourne and Hyderabad, it’s Dubai’s turn to witness the Sania Mirza storm. The Indian sensation, using another wild card to good use, eked out one more memorable win to kick-start her campaign in the $585,000 Dubai Open.

“The crowd was very supportive… it was just like playing in Hyderabad,” Sania told The Telegraph an hour after her 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 win over Croatia’s world No. 36 Jelena Kostanic.

For a girl who has made it a habit of humbling higher-ranked opponents, this was by far the teenager’s biggest win. Sania’s previous ‘best’ was Chinese world No. 61 Jie Zheng, at the Hyderabad Open earlier this month.

“The first set was a bit up and down, I led 4-1, then she came back… I had my chances but couldn’t take them,” Sania said. “The second set was close. Once I took that, I played solid tennis in the third.”

The ankle injury hasn’t subsided totally, but unlike in Hyderabad, she didn’t have to take painkillers or wear a thigh strapping. “I didn’t feel any discomfort,” Sania said. “The crowd was rooting for me so much, it would have lifted my game anyway.”

Among those in the stands was former Davis Cupper Zeeshan Ali, now settled in Dubai. There were some other family friends of the Mirzas as well.

Up next for Sania is an even bigger name, US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. “Everyone knows she’s a very good player… it will be a tough match. I’ll just go out and play as I have been playing over the past few weeks,” Sania signed off on her customary confident note.

Whom do you root for? A sports personality or a person from tinsel town. A rather debatable subject. To feel the pulse of those who support either of them and at a time when cricketers’ popularity rivals that of cine stars. The Mylapore Club, as part of its centenary year celebrations, conducted a Pattimandram at Narada Gana Sabha in Chennai yesterday.

The theme of the debate was ‘ Whom do people support - Sportspersons or Cine Stars’. The team which spoke for sportspersons had K Srikkanth and L Sivaramakrishnan, cricketers, and Nirmal Shekhar, a scribe.

The strange fact was that the club couldn’t find any sportsperson other than cricketers to represent the team. But in a country which rates Indian cricket team’s victory over Bangladesh higher than a Olympic silver medal performance by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the club cannot be blamed for its act.

Though the club has been conducting various sports events apart from cricket, when it comes to seeking public attention they have played safe, by bringing in cricketers.

The show was full of enthusiasm with drama artiste Y Gee Mahendran, who spoke for the cine stars, making humorous remarks on cricketers which enthralled the audience. L Sivaramakrishanan pointed out that Brylcreem advertisement was first modeled by Farooq Engineer, former wicketkeeper, and added that he was preferred over other cine stars even in those days. Baski said Amitabh, even at this age was able to attract fans which many cricketers couldn’t. Srikkanth mentioned that there are no possibilities of retakes in cricket as in cinema and that makes the game tougher. Mahendran countered it well with an answer ‘ There are no such retakes in stage dramas’.

Mohan V Raman said women, who form a major part of the TV audience, prefer serials to cricket matches. Nirmal Shekar argued that Sachin Tendulkar could sell a product throughout India whereas a Tamil film star cannot.

A R S, the judge for the Pattimandram concluded the debate on expected lines, stating that both cine stars and sportspersons are equally popular.

The function also drew a good number of audience despite the fact that it was a Sunday morning.

A lucky dip was also held and C K Nagesh, veteran actor, gave away the prizes.

From the entertainment point of view, the show was a perfect treat for all those present. But realistically let us take more initiatives in developing or in other words promoting sports apart from cricket.

Sania Mirza, Narain Karthikeyan and Vishwananthan Anand were the few lucky ones on whom the panelists showed some interest apart from cricketers. The fact that none of the panelists cared to talk about hockey, our national sport was highly- disappointing.