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Thursday, August 11, 2005 |
From the desk of Mustafa Kamal...... Sania in the past couple of matches has played excellent tennis, the brand of tennis that I always believed an Indian can play.... so I can say that she has redeemed me.
I still remember this parent Mrs. xxxxx whose daughter was being coached by me... in fact her daughter had a better game at that time, Well it was 2002 and I was trying to convince her to send her daughter more on the tour and she was like " Indian girls are good for nothing, they cannot achieve anything in tennis." to which I had remarked " Sania is doing everything right, she is playing a lot of tournaments which is giving her invaluable experience and its a matter of time when she strikes it big" Well just one year down the line Sania Mirza was given a hero's welcome in the city.
... And to think all the times Sania and this lady's daughter played Sania always lost. I do not attribute Sania's success to her talent.... It was Naseema's contribution that made Sania a champ. We have many Sania Mirza's languishing in this country. We need Mom's like Naseema Mirza. I have seen her sacrifices, her commitment, her marketing skills.....I can say this because I have seen them from close quarters since 1994. The first time Sania played with me in IAS Tennis courts at Begumpet.
.... and then I cannot forget the role played by GVK Group, with all the attributes of Naseema Mirza and all the achievements of Sania it would have been impossible without Mr. GVK Reddy's support. It's only due to his patronage that Sania got the mileage for her achieviements ....
..... And then Sania was lucky to have the unflinching support of AITA and APLTA. I guess if we go by the history of wild cards given to any single player, Sania will top the list..... So was it pure talent or Sania is a manufactured player..... To be honest I will opt for the later because I am sure 90% of the players will perform at Sania's level if provided by the backend support which was made available to her.
....... That means if APLTA / AITA can adopt a bunch of players instead of one on a long term contract / commitment and their efforts are backed by a large corporate house, these players are marketed properly in the media..... WE HAVE A SUCCESS FORMULA. We will have many more faces on the Women’s Tour. If it’s so simple then you might ask that why don't we implement it...... Well here lies the catch...... unfortunately in our "Mahaan" country we start everything with a good intension, we allocate funds too.... but by the time these funds reach the real beneficiaries we all know what happens. We NEED MORE ACCOUNTABLITY. More COMMITMENT.... and above all a burning desire to make our country PROUD.
Against this entire backdrop we need a pro-active media, we need reporters who are able to understand what they are talking about, and it’s a simple equation...... I may know a lot about tennis, may have all the correct insight to develop tennis..... but can I apply the same to promote hockey or football, the ground realities will change so I feel that unless and until former sportspersons are encouraged, trained and convinced to participate actively our reporters will always be filing reports just on hearsay. I personally will appreciate if the media gives EQUAL coverage to every sportsperson without a bias.
How many people remember the Junior Wimbledon champions from India ?
How many people know that India has produced "x" number of Junior Single's Champions ?
How many of these Champion's were given the financial support extended to Sania Mirza? By the respective associations or the Government ? How many of these Champion's were adopted by the corporate houses ?
Just think.......
And to top it all........ Sania loses in 3rd round and there is a big hype about it..... Do you remember the Indian who won the title in the same tournament ?
Well Sania keep it up. All I can say is that you are at a stage where it is easy to get lost.
I am not saying that Sania does not deserve the limelight, I want to see no sportsperson deprived of his/her due just because he/she lacks the support of marketing skills or the patronage of a corporate house like GVK. Sania's experiment should fuel more Corporate's coming forward to adopt and promote tennis players. Sania is just a begining. I hope to see many more Indian players taking up tennis full time as a profession and make our country proud.
P.S: Its time for Sania to stop claiming to be a devout Muslim. She should remember that she is an INDIAN..... Nothing more, Nothing less. Religion is a personal issue. KEEP IT THAT WAY.
"LET'S STRIVE TO MAKE AT LEAST SPORTS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AREA"
Sania Mirza's amazing run on the US hard court circuit ended with her first round exit in the $585,000 JP Morgan Chase tourney here at the hands of lower ranked Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic.
A pair of Chinese players put on impressive performances in first round action on the second day of the $585 000 JP Morgan Chase Open on Tuesday. Peng Shuai, breezed past Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi 7-6 (7/5), 6-0 and Beijing's Sun Tian-tian destroyed lucky loser Maria Fernanda Alves of Brazil 6-0, 6-1 to reach the second round of the hardcourt tournament at the Home Depot Center in south central Los Angeles.
The 19-year-old Peng upset Elena Dementieva and former world No.1 Kim Clijsters before falling to eventual champion Mary Pierce in the semifinals at last week's WTA San Diego tournament. Last year, Peng, who turned pro in 2001, reached two WTA quarterfinals in Guangzhou and Cincinnati.
Varvara Lepchenko became the first player to advance to the third round after the native of Uzbekistan bounced fellow lucky loser Silvija Talaja of Croatia, 6-4, 6-2. In other second round matches on Tuesday, top seed Maria Sharapova will face Russian compatriot Maria Kirilenko and No.15 Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic will face American Amy Frazier.
Daniilidou of Greece eliminated qualifier Maria Emilia Salerni of Argentina, 7-6 (7-2) 7-5; Jill Craybas ousted Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3; and Croatian Karolina Sprem edged qualifier Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11).
Czech Iveta Benesova utilized a service break in the final game to get past rising Indian teenager Sania Mirza, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, and qualifier Tathiana Garbin of Italy bounced lucky loser Bethanie Mattek of the US, 6-4, 6-2.
The tournament has a weak field following the withdrawal of defending champion Davenport (lower back) and Serena Williams (ankle) to injuries. Vera Zvonareva (left ankle sprain) and fellow Russian Elena Likhovtseva (upset stomach) were forced to pull out as well.
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Wednesday, August 10, 2005 |
Los Angeles Open Women's Singles results Round 2
15-Klara Koukalova (Czech) beat Amy Frazier (USA) 6-3 4-6 6-3
1-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 7-6(7) 6-2
Varvara Lepchenko (Uzbekistan) beat Silvija Talaja (Croatia) 6-4 6-2
Round 1
Tiantian Sun (China) beat Maria Fernanda Alves (Brazil) 6-0 6-1
Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) beat Maria Emilia Salerni (Argentina) 7-6(2) 7-5
Karolina Sprem (Croatia) beat Yuliana Fedak (Ukraine) 6-4 7-6(11)
Tathiana Garbin (Italy) beat Bethanie Mattek (United States) 6-4 6-2
Katerina Bondarenko (Ukraine) beat Evgenia Linetskaya (Russia) 6-0 6-3
Conchita Martinez (Spain) beat Mashona Washington (United States) 6-1 6-4
Jill Craybas (United States) beat Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spain) 6-0 4-6 6-3
Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) beat Sania Mirza (India) 6-3 1-6 6-4
Shuai Peng (China) beat Maria Vento-Kabchi (Venezuela) 7-6(5) 6-0
 | Zheng Jie came from behind to upset 11th seeded Shinobu Asagoe in three sets as a series of impressive performances by Chinese women on the WTA Tour continued this week.
Zheng beat Japan's Asagoe 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-0 on Monday to reach the second round of the JP Morgan Chase Open where she will face either Russian Evgenia Linetskaya or Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine. |
Name and Nationality / Points / World Ranking
1. SUGIYAMA, AI (JPN) / 1042.00 / 26
2. ASAGOE, SHINOBU(JPN) / 1022.75 / 29
3. PENG, SHUAI (CHN) / 929.50 / 32
4. MORIGAMI, AKIKO (JPN) / 775.25 / 42
5. NA, LI (CHN) / 764.00 / 43
6. MIRZA, SANIA (IND) / 706.50 / 48
7. CHO, YOON JEONG (KOR) / 481.75 / 73
8. ZHENG, JIE (CHN) / 469.75 / 76
9. NAKAMURA, AIKO (JPN) / 393.25 / 87
10. TANASUGARN, TAMARINE (THA) / 387.50 / 88
11. FUJIWARA, RIKA (JPN) / 352.75 / 101
12. SHIKHA,UBEROI (IND) / 278.75 / 128
13. LEPCHENKO, VARVARA (UZB) / 267.50 / 133
14. OBATA, SAORI (JPN) / 222.25 / 154
15. LI, TING (CHN) / 216.75 / 158
16. YOSHIDA, YUKA (JPN) / 196.50 / 168
17. HISAMATSU, SHIHO (JPN) / 196.50 / 169
18. FUDA, RYOKO (JPN) / 181.00 / 179
19. YAN, ZI (CHN) / 177.50 / 181
20. LIU,NANNAN (CHN) / 175.75 / 183
21. OKAMOTO, SEIKO (JPN) / 161.25 / 194
22. SUN,TIAN-TIAN (CHN) / 154.00 / 202
23. HSIEH,SU-WEI (TPE) / 141.00 / 217
24. CHUANG, CHIA-JUNG (TPE) / 138.50 / 222
25. VIRATPRASERT, SUCHANAN (THA) / 137.00 / 225
Peng shocks Clijsters to break her 26 match winning streak China's Shuai Peng continued her amazing run at the $1.3 million Acura Classic, as she ended Belgian Kim Clijsters, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the semifinals.  Peng had earlier beaten third seed Elena Dementieva this week, but her victory on Friday night may be more impressive. Clijsters, who was seeded seventh, had won 26 straight matches on American hardcourts. The run dated back to her season-ending championships victory in November of 2003. It marked her first defeat in the United States since losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the 2003 U.S. Open final. Clijsters' streak included winning back-to-back titles earlier this year at Indian Wells Miami, and last weekend in Stanford. However, she double faulted three times in the second set against Peng. The 19-year-old Peng, who has never won a tournament in her WTA Tour career, started 2005 ranked 80th, but has moved up to 46th since then. Peng won the final three games of the opening set, breaking Clijsters for a 5-4 lead. She broke Clijsters two more times in the second set, before holding serve in the final game to advance. Peng's opponent in Saturday's semifinals will be resurgent French star Mary Pierce.
Sania withdraws from Rogers Cup A stomach muscle pull forced Sania Mirza, fresh from her ascent into the top 50 rankings, to skip next week's $1.3 million Rogers Cup in Toronto, her father revealed.  "Sania is struggling with a muscle pull in the stomach and playing more will only make it worse. We may pull her out of next week's Rogers Cup to give her time to recover for the US Open," Imran Mirza told from Hyderabad.
Ai Sugiyama loses in finals Mary Pierce routed Ai Sugiyama 6-0, 6-3 Sunday in the finals of the Acura Classic to win her first tournament in over a year. The sixth-seeded Pierce was dominant, winning 11 of the first 12 games and breaking Sugiyama's serve six straight times. By the time Sugiyama held her serve -- the seventh game of the second set -- Pierce already had a 5-2 lead. "I felt like I played well and did what I needed to win," said Pierce, a two-time Grand Slam champion. "She seemed hampered with her movement," Pierce said. "She's always pretty quick. She seemed a little bit slower today."
Sugiyama agreed that her playing schedule worked against her. "It was tough because I played so late [Saturday]," she said. Pierce, ranked 14th in the world, attacked Sugiyama's serve from the start. Pierce allowed her only two points on serve in the first set which took 22 minutes. "I was really playing well, not making too many mistakes," Pierce said. "I was really pleased with my first set." Things didn't get much better for Sugiyama, even though she broke Pierce's serve in the first game of the second set. Sugiyama, who played with her left thigh wrapped all week as a Preventive measure, called for the WTA trainer at 2-1 and received treatment for a split toenail on her right big toe. Pierce broke Sugiyama's serve three straight times after the medical time out to move ahead 5-1. "She played great," said Sugiyama, who is ranked 38th. "She was aggressive and every point was tough for me."
Pierce squandered four match points in the next game and double faulted to give Sugiyama the game. Sugiyama saved two more match points, including when Pierce whiffed on a forehand overhead at the net. "That was a first for me," said Pierce, who shared a laugh on the court with Sugiyama after she missed the shot. "You couldn't have asked for an easier shot to put away the match. What can you do? You just have to laugh." The 75-minute match ended when Pierce hit a 109-mph ace to capture the winner's purse of $189,000. Pierce became the 16th WTA player to exceed $16 million in career earnings. Sugiyama won $96,000 for finishing in second place.
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