Sania Mirza - Attitude Unlimited Options

[catch22]

LOVE ALL



Love her or hate her but you certainly can't ignore her. This could have been just another punch line on her T-shirt -- Short, catchy and with oodles of attitude.

Born in Mumbai in 1986, Sania was ranked 435 in WTA Singles ranking in June'04. She started 2005 at 169 and jumped to 42 before US Open '05. Thanks to her performance in US, Sania is already World No 37 (she dropped 3 points after her loss at the Sunfeast Open), the highest-ranked female tennis player ever from India.

HindustanTimes.com brings to you Sania at rank 435 and the 'star Sania' at rank 37.

ATTITUDE UNLIMITED
Coached by her father Imran Mirza, Sania claimed her first career WTA Tour title on February 12, 2005 in Hyderabad. She had earlier won the Wimbledon Championships Girls' Doubles title, teaming up with Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, in 2003 - the same year in which she had turned professional.

She became the first Indian woman to reach the third round at a Grand Slam event at the Australian Open. And the latest feat comes with Sania reaching the fourth round of the US Open -- A feat unaccomplished by any Indian woman before.



DON'T GET IN MY WAY

Sania is not new to criticism. When she was six, her mother took her to a coach, who initially refused to coach her because she was too small. But a month later, the coach had to bite the dust and declare that he'd never seen a player so good at such a young age.

And now too her game gets its share of criticism. Too many double faults (she had six double faults against Maria Sharapova at the US Open), unforced errors (Sharapova had 14 while Sania made 23 unforced errors) are just some of them. Her weak second serve is believed to be her undoing in the last big match. Compared to six aces served by Sharapova, Sania could serve only one.



I'M OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER...
She might be facing a problem serving aces to her opponents but Sania scores all the points when it comes to serving aces to the press. At a press meet at the Sunfeast Open in Kolkata recently, Sania gave volleys to the press left, right and centre.

When a reporter pointed out her unforced errors at the US Open, Sania replied, "I'm going to have a lot of unforced errors here too�€� I compensate them with winners. People have to start accepting that I'm going to lose matches." And then came the match-winner, on being asked why her game was inconsistent, the 18-year-old asked the scribe, "You think so?"



WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN RARELY MAKE HISTORY
In over a year, Sania has made an impact on the world tennis circuit like very few players have. Starting from 435 in June 2004, she has climbed the ladder steadily. By October 2004, she had reached 233. Ranked 169 at the beginning of 2005, she reached 77, thanks to her exploits at the Australian Open and the Dubai Open.

By July, she had achieved the 64th spot and by the end of August, she had created history yet again by reaching the 42nd spot in the WTA Singles ranking. After her entry into the fourth round of the US Open 2005, she achieved her career-best ranking of 34.



I'M CUTE? NO SH**
This sporting icon has another record to her name. In March '05, Lotto Sports Italia signed her as their brand ambassador. And in December, Lotto will launch a Sania Signature Line collection. Sania would become only the fourth player after Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Stephen Edberg to have her own signature line.

Anything that Sania wears becomes a style-statement. T-shirts with snazzy one-liners have been part of street-fashion forever. A nose ring and several ear rings complete her wardrobe. She's often seen in black-rimmed specs, which have started making a disappearance lately.



...EITHER AGREE WITH ME OR BE WRONG


The new kid on the block has also had a number of offers coming her way. Not movies yet, just endorsements from all big names in the business. Lotto Sports, Hindustan Petroleum, Tata tea and the latest to join the bandwagon is Hyundai Getz. And for heart's sake...Sania is the new ambassador of Save a Child's Heart (SACH) campaign.

Along with all the kudos, Sania is also at the receiving end of a fatwa against her. A Muslim cleric reportedly issued a decree about her dress code saying that Islam doesn't permit a woman to wear skirts, shorts and sleeveless tops. According to him, Sania "left nothing to imagination". But for now, let it be�€�..Quiet please�€�..Thank You.


-- Text by Sakshi Arora
-- Design by Prashant Sethi

SOURCE

[SAJJAD]

Sania "left nothing to imagination". But for now, let it be�€�..Quiet please�€�..Thank You.

Mullah's imagine I think, she leaves lots to imagination Don't u agree Khan Saab?

[AzgarKhan]

lol Sajjad Bhai, aap ek din mujhe pitwaogay

[Sharad]

i've seen/heard nothing good from her this year
the rate at which she's going, only a top 40 player or so
i think she should just shut it this attitude crap and start winning some matches before I totally write her off : ) ) ))

alright she could improve even more, but i seen nothing of that so far though

sigh

--Sharad