Date:13/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/13/stories/2007021307182200.htm

Sport

WTA championship from today

Nandita Sridhar

QUIET CONFIDENT: Sania Mirza (left), exchanging pleasantries with Jelena Kostanic Tosic, will be hoping to maintain her early season form in the WTA tournament in Bangalore. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

Bangalore: Near-deserted roads and streets that lead to the near-deserted KSLTA Stadium gave not the slightest inkling that the Sony Ericsson International WTA tennis event was less than 24 hours away.

Despite the engulfing emptiness that marked most parts of Bangalore, there was visible sign of activity on Centre Court, where Sania Mirza produced volleys off her racket, after which the left-handed Jelena Kostanic Tosic banged in a few backhand opportunities for the 20-year-old.

The past few months have seen Sania showing a willingness to wean herself off her earlier style that revolved too much around generating serial forehands.

A lot fitter

Having dispensed off with a lot of bulk, Sania looks in good shape for the tournament. "Well, you're never satisfied, but I'm getting better. I haven't been injured in six months, and the off-season training helped a lot. I feel a lot fitter now than last time," said Sania after her training session.

"It's been just three tournaments so far in 2007, and two semifinals out of three is pretty good. Right now, I'm just looking at Bangalore, and I don't want to look beyond this tournament," she said.

Does the high altitude create problems? "It's not something I favour, because the altitude will not help me. My racket strings have been strung pretty high, since the balls are heavier," she said.

On her disappointing season last year, Sania said that it had made her stronger. "I always assess my game, even when I win. I watched the tapes of my win against Hingis (Martina) five to six times last year. Last season was tough, but it happens in the second year. I've seen people go down to 100 in the rankings in the second year. I was playing fine last year, and it was just a matter of winning," she said.

A lot to learn

Disappointed that Serena could not make it, Sania said that there was a lot to learn from her, and hoped that she would come next time. "We must salute her for what all she's done," she said.

On her mixed doubles pairing with Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania said that it was always going to happen. "I have a good forehand, he has a great backhand, and it should work very well for both of us," she said.

Her serve is something that needs chiselling. "I am serving a lot better now, but I need to work on speed and consistency," she added.

The deeper Sania manages to go solo into the tournament, the better it would be for the tournament. But Martina Sucha will be a tough opponent. "She is doing very well now, and she beat Marion Bartolli in Pattaya," she said.

Looking beyond Sania, Indian wildcards Shikha Uberoi and Tara Iyer will have it tough, as expected. "I have never played her, but I've seen her in he junior circuit," said Tara Iyer, on her opponent (Dominika Cibulkova) ranked 400 places higher than her.

The schedule: Centre Court: 10 a.m. start: Alla Kudryavtseva (Rus) vs Tzipora Obziler (Isr); Jelena Kostanic Tosic (Cro) vs Sophie Ferguson (Aus); Kristina Barrois (Ger) vs Vasilisa Bardina (Rus)

Not before 5 p.m.: Tara Iyer (Ind) vs Dominika Cibulkova (Svk); Shikha Uberoi (Ind) vs Yaroslava Shvedova (Rus); Sania Mirza (Ind) & Mara Santangelo (Ita) vs Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzb) & Tatiana Poutchek (Blr)