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.