Causing upsets on global courts, she has the serves and the nerves to blossom into a mega-player. But, India's teen sensation, Sania Mirza, still has a long way to go before she joins the tennis greats

Outplaying reigning US open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in straight sets to enter the quarter finals of the recent Dubai Open Tennis Championships, wild card entry, Sania Mirza, turned the seedings on their head yet again to cause a shock upset. Earlier, the teen sensation from Hyderabad had become the first Indian to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title. Her victory in her hometown last month had not only catapulted her to No 99 in the WTA rankings but had also made her the subject matter of front-page news and roadside hoardings (‘You are my Sania!’).

Hype and hoopla are not new to the good-looking teen, who was Wimbledon girls’ doubles champion just a short while ago. And when she set up a clash with power player, Serena Williams, in the last Australian Open, interest in her on – and off – court moves spiralled considerably. So what, everyone said, if apni Sania went down fighting to the American veteran? Holding her nerve, she won many hearts even though she lost the crucial match.
Perhaps the most loved teenager since a young Sachin Tendulkar burst on the scene years ago, she is often compared with the glamour gals on the tennis circuit like Anna Kournikova. But, Sania insists, “I am not here to become a glam doll. Tennis is my first and lasting priority. Nothing else is important.” Devoting long hours of strenuous practice on the courts, Sania is “quite happy with the way things are shaping up nowadays….”