A star is born in India after Mirza wins aon home soil
A star is born in India after Mirza wins aon home soil
Agencies, Hyderabad, India
Indian tennis fans celebrated on Sunday after teenager Sania
Mirza became the nation's first female winner of a WTA Tour
singles event on Saturday.
The unseeded 18-year-old, ranked 134th in the world, won the
Hyderabad Open in front of a delirious home crowd when she
defeated ninth seed Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4 5-7 6-3.
Simply Superb, Sania, said a headline in the Hindustan Times
daily on Sunday, while The Times of India splashed a big picture
of Mirza with the heading: Mirzaah! She's Magic.
Fans danced on the streets in the southern Indian city of
Hyderabad on Saturday night in a country where such sporting
reactions are normally reserved only for cricket.
"You've turned us from cricket to tennis," said one banner.
Mirza's victory is being hailed as a giant leap forward for
women's tennis in India.
"Unlike the men, women's tennis in India lacks history and
Sania has revolutionized it," said the country's finest tennis
player Ramanathan Krishnan, who reached the Wimbledon semifinals
in 1960 and 1961.
"It's too early to say what she is likely to achieve. Of
course, it would be great to see her reach the pinnacle of
women's tennis."
The win will take Mirza close to her immediate target of
breaking into the top 100. Last year, she became the youngest
Indian, male or female, to win a professional title by claiming
the doubles at the same event.
"It's simply unbelievable that she's done what she has so
quickly," said former national champion Sai Jayalakshmy.
"She loves the spotlight, and she's extremely confident. Her
self-belief is perhaps the biggest difference between her and the
women players of my generation."
"This win has made me believe more in myself and I can now
hope to do better in the coming days," Mirza said. "I wanted to
win this tournament very badly since it was in my hometown."
Politicians also joined the wave of congratulations.
"I am happy that an Indian player has won this title for the
first time. I wish her success in future to bring more laurels to
herself and to the country. I see a bright future for her", said
Indian President Abdul Kalam in a message.