Mirza, who won five WTA titles this season, aims for a better showing in 2014
Sania Mirza has had a successful year winning five Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) titles in 2013. She hopes to continue her fine run next year with Cara Black in the women’s doubles.
Tennis stars Sania Mirza (left) and Mahesh Bhupathi at the ITPA Tennis Masters event at Khar Gymkhana on Saturday. Pic/Sameer Abedi
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“I have had a very good year and you try to outdo yourself every year. You have to put it (past success) behind with the new season starting and have to start fresh,” said the 27-year-old Hyderabadi on the sidelines of the ITPA Tennis Doubles Masters event at Khar Gymkhana on Saturday.
Speaking about her partner Black, she said, “I have a good partnership with Cara and we get along. More than that she is very experienced. She has done it all, so I learn a lot from her. She is extremely humble.
“Cara and me haven’t lost a match, we won the three tournaments we played. We are looking forward to our new partnership. She was in Hyderabad practising with me. We are really excited about it. We are doing the right things,” said Mirza who is ranked World No 9 in the doubles rankings.
Mirza will partner Romanian Horia Tecau in the mixed doubles at the Australian Open, but she said she is open to playing with Rohan Bopanna if she gets a chance. “As of now, we are committed to playing with other partners at the Australian Open.
I have no issues playing with Rohan. It’s all about what the situation would be later,” said Mirza who isn’t sure who she will play with at next year’s Asian Games.
No favourites, please!
While she has frequently changed partners this season, she didn’t want to give a favourite tag to any of them. “Every partner has a share of good and bad, but once you get along that is when you form a good partnership and it depends on your chemistry. It will be unfair to name one person.
“Bethanie (Mattek-Sands) has been my best friend on tour and off it. So it is a lot of fun to play with her. We had some great results a well. Unfortunately due to her health we had to stop playing. At the moment I will have to say Cara because I am playing with her,” she said.
Physios for players
Meanwhile, the Indian Tennis Players Association (ITPA) had an executive committee meeting ahead of the Masters event. The player’s body shared their plans for the next year, with providing a physiotherapist and a fitness trainer to players being their top priority.
“We had an executive committee meeting and have chalked out a plan for the next 12 months. One of the things we are going to do is get players a physiotherapist and a fitness trainer to travel with them through the year,” the Association’s vice-president Mahesh Bhupathi said.
“The second is mentoring juniors. The third is having events such as this to not only raise funds, but also find support for juniors that we want to mentor,” Bhupathi added.u00a0
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