Sania Mirza delivered a baby boy on Tuesday, October 30th, and the news was revealed by her husband Shoaib Malik on social media. It is the first child of the Indian tennis star and her Pakistani cricketer husband after eight years of marriage.
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennis. Show all posts
Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis clinch title in Guangzhou
The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair produced a dominant performance to claim a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over the Chinese duo of Shilin Xu and Xiaodi You in the summit clash that lasted nearly an hour.
Maria Sharapova beats Mariana Duque-Marino
Photo source (bbc)
MADRID:Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round of the Madrid Open by beating Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday.Sharapova wins
The Russian arrived here in need of some time on court after early exits in Indian Wells, Miami and Stuttgart.
Against Swiss Bacsinszky, she began the process of playing herself into form ahead of the defence of her French Open title, firing 28 winners en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in an hour and 20 minutes.
after an 'incredible' 2014,Sania Mirza targets number one spot
Hyderabad: Having ended a successful year with victory in the WTA Tour Finals, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has set her sights on becoming the doubles world number one next season.
"That's pretty amazing. People expect that much of me and wish so much for me. Like I said, I am getting closer to my goal which is to try and be number one in the world. I got a Slam this year, won the Championships. That's one of my goals.
So, I will try and be number one. Hopefully, that will happen next year," she told
Serena Williams beats Simona Halep to win WTA Finals championship
Serena Williams overcame a shaky start to power past Simona Halep and claim a fifth WTA Finals title in Singapore. Many had suggested that Williams was a fading force after she failed to reach the quarter-finals at the first three grand slams of the year, but she came back to win a third consecutive US Open title and repeated that feat at the Finals with a 6-3, 6-0 win on Sunday.
Sania-Cara record nervy win, enter WTA Finals
The Hyderabadi and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black made a mockery of their rivals Su-Wei Hseih of Chinese Taipei and Shuai Peng of China to beat them 6-1, 6-0 in a clash that lasted just about an hour.
Sania Mirza, Mattek-Sands win doubles title
The unseeded Indo-American duo prevailed over the Russian-Slovenia combo 6-4 2-6 10-7 in a tightly-contested final of the USD 2,000,000 hard court event. The match lasted for one hour and 32 minutes. After a rather easy victory in the first set, the eventual winners were made to struggle as Petrova and Srebotnik fought back strongly to take the second set.
Sania and Bethanie, however, sealed the issue in their favour by
winning the crucial third set. The two players had won the Brisbane
International last month to make a superb start to the 2013 season. This
was Sania's 16th championships wins in doubles, and she also has one
single title win.
Both the pairs had two aces each but Petrova and Srebotnik, interestingly, committed just one double fault compared to three by the Indo-American duo. As far as first service was concerned, the runner-up team's winning percentage was 68 compared to the winners' 62 per cent.
However, in the second service, Sania and her partner's winning percentage was 53 compared to the runner-up's 41 per cent. Sania and Bethanie had to work hard for points as their opponents fought well throughout. The total points won were 63 by Sania and Bethanie even as their opponents fell short by just one point.
Serena Williams is the real number one
Williams, 31, confirmed her return to top spot by reaching the semi-finals of the Qatar Open, where she eventually lost in the final to Victoria Azarenka, who she replaces at number one.
Williams, a 15-time Grand Slam winner, last held the top ranking in October 2010 before a serious foot injury.
British men's number one Andy Murray remains the world number three .
Britain's top female player Heather Watson stays at number 41 while Laura Robson rises two places to 43, equalling her highest ranking to date.
Williams replaces fellow American Chris Evert as the oldest woman to be number one - Evert held the top ranking in 1985 just before turning 31.
Williams missed almost a year on the tour after winning Wimbledon in 2010, when she cut her feet on broken glass and required two operations on her right foot, before suffering blood clots in her lungs.
She slipped as low as 175th in the rankings but in 2012, her first full season back on the tour, she won Wimbledon, Olympic singles gold, the US Open and the WTA Championships.
She needed to reach the final four in Doha to overtake Azarenka at the top of the rankings.
Oldest players to hold WTA world number one ranking
1. Serena Williams (US) 31 years, 4 months, 24 days
2. Chris Evert (US) 30 years, 11 months, 3 days (Nov 1985)3. Martina Navratilova (US) 30 years, 9 months, 29 days (Aug 1987)
4. Lindsay Davenport (US) 29 years, 7 months, 8 days (Jan 2006)
5. Serena Williams 29 years, 0 months, 14 days (Oct 2010)
6. Steffi Graf (Germany) 27 years, 9 months, 16 days (Mar 1997)
Victoria Azarenka Defeats Serena Williams to Win 2013 Qatar Open
DOHA — Defending champion Victoria Azarenka beat Serena Williams 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3 to win the Qatar Open on Sunday, earning her 16th title and ending a nine-match losing streak against the American.Azarenka will give up the No. 1 ranking to the second-ranked Williams on Monday but extended her current winning streak to 14 matches, which included her second Australian Open title. More importantly, she may have turned around what has been a one-sided rivalry against Williams. Azarenka had not beaten Williams since 2009 in Miami, and had a 1-11 record against the American going into Sunday’s final.
“It feels incredible,” Azarenka said. “You know, this tournament is really great. … It had such a strong field going into it, and I’m really glad that in the end of the week I’m the one who’s holding the trophy.”
Azarenka broke to go up 2-1 when an erratic Williams hit one of her four double-faults in the first set, but the American ensured it was back on serve after eight games. Williams struggled with her first serve throughout the first set and hit 26 unforced errors, but still had a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker. However, she hit a poor forehand into the net, and Azarenka then converted her first set point with a great return.
Williams dominated the second set with her powerful serve and forehand, while Azarenka could only hit 39 percent of her first serves.
Azarenka fell behind 0-30 in the first game of the decider but recovered and took a 3-0 lead. Williams then saved a match point at 5-2 to stay the match, but Azarenka clinched the win on her next service game when Williams hit a forehand wide.
“I just wanted to fight and give it my best, give myself every opportunity I can,” Azarenka said. “I started with love-30 (in the third) and I was like, `You have to keep it together. You have to do something.’ Serena was on a roll … so I had to really step up my game. I’m really glad I could turn it around and stay tough.”
Williams praised Azarenka’s performance but insisted she still wasn’t at her best. Struggling at times with a cold and still nursing a right ankle injury that bothered her at the Australian Open, Williams appeared sluggish in early-round matches and needed three sets to beat Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals.
She made 48 errors against Azarenka and only converted three of her seven break points.
“This whole week, I just don’t think I played my best tennis, and I was fighting every match,” she said. “I can’t play that quality game against a top player like Victoria. I have to be able to pick up my game, and I wasn’t able to do that today. I stayed at a two out of a 10, and I can’t play that low.”Williams had won her last eight finals. Still, she took comfort in the fact that she is returning to the No. 1 ranking for the first time in almost two and a half years. She becomes the oldest player to hold that title, breaking the mark previously held by Chris Evert, who was No. 1 in 1985 just shy of her 31st birthday.
“I’m definitely not happy, but I’m No. 1,” she said, smiling. “It was such a long journey, and after winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and the (WTA) Championships, I thought, I just don’t think I can win anymore. I don’t know what it takes to be No. 1. So it was awesome to come here and achieve that goal.”
But with Azarenka’s win on Sunday, Williams’ stay atop the rankings may only last one week.
Azarenka can reclaim the top spot in Dubai next week if she reaches the final and Williams does not.
But the rivalry doesn’t seem to prevent the players from getting along off the court, as they laughed and chatted about the upcoming Academy Awards after the trophy ceremony.
“I always respect Victoria. I think she’s a really good player. Obviously she’s so consistent and she plays well,” Williams said. “It’s nice to always play someone that you go home and you’re like, `OK, I didn’t do great, but let me work harder’. She inspires a lot of people to work harder, and definitely me.”
Azarenka agreed.
“I feel like we’re pushing each other to go to the limit every time, to step up, to improve, and that’s tremendous motivation to have,” she said. “You always know that somebody’s out there wants to push you. For me, it’s incredible privilege to be in that position.”
sania mirza biodata
Name-Sania Mirza Date of Birth-15 Nov 1986
Birth Place-Mumbai
Nationality-India
Height- 1.67 m
Weight- 54 kgs
Profession- Tennis player
Education- Nasr School
Family-* Father: Imran Mirza
* Mother: Nasima
* Sister: Anam
Started playing- at the age of 6
Plays Right Handed- (Double Handed Backhand)
Coach- Krishna Bhupathi
Physiotherapist- Mr Badrinath
First ITF junior event abroad- Lahore, Pakistan
Has visited- 35 countries
Favourite tennis player- Steffi Graf
Career Highs- Career-High Singles- No. 97 (feb 28, 2005)
Career-High Doubles : No. 166 (October 25, 2004)
Education- 10th standard (SSC) in the first division with 63 per cent marks.
SANIA’S NATURAL BEAUTY
Only 20 years old, Sania is still growing into her 5'7", 130-lb. frame, as evidenced by her round, healthy face and still-lingering baby fat. Nonetheless, Sania has been blessed with a tall, strong frame, gorgeous long hair and deep brown eyes
Sania's sexiness is a matter of great interest in her native India.
As she is Muslim by birth, many believe that Sania's exposed flesh is
not in keeping with her religion's traditional standards of dress and
decorum. On September 8, 2005, the Hindustan Times reported that a
religious scholar named Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui had issued a fatwa on
Sania because of the clothing -- or lack thereof -- she wore when
competing. The All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board has since called
the fatwa "unnecessary and uncalled for," but the debate still rages
among some. "As long as I am winning, people shouldn't care whether my skirt is six inches long or six feet long," Sania said following the fracas. "How I dress is a very personal thing. It is scary that every time I wear a T-shirt, it becomes a talking point for the next three days."
When it comes to men, Sania has a very specific idea of what she likes. "He has to be good looking and over six feet tall," she says. "No, on a serious note, I think he needs to understand me and he needs to be a nice person and not have any ego hassles. I need a guy who understands me." Think you fit the bill? Keep in mind that you'll have to get by Naseem Mirza, Sania's mother and constant traveling companion on the pro circuit.
Sania-Bhupathi out of Wimbledon, Paes advances
London: Indian tennis stalwarts Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who were locked in a selection row for the London Olympics recently, saw their fortunes take different turns on Saturday with the former reaching the third round of the men's doubles event while the latter crashed out of mixed doubles competition of the Wimbledon here.
The French Open champion pair of Bhupathi and Sania Mirza, who later joined the selection row by lashing out at the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for using her as a "bait" to pacify Paes, suffered a crushing 3-6, 1-6 defeat to Australian P Hanley and A Kudryavtseva in a 50-minute mixed-doubles match at the All England Club here.
However, Paes - who confirmed his participation in the Olympics on Friday - and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek notched up a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Isreali combination of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in a gruelling two hour and 20 minutes battle.
Paes-Stepanek duo win Aus Open men's doubles title
MELBOURNE: Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied the Bryan brothers a record 12th men's Grand Slam doubles title on Saturday as they beat the American top seeds in straight sets in the Australian Open final.
The 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory was the first for India's Paes over American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in a final after five defeats in title matches, and means he completes a career Grand Slam of doubles titles.
Coming into the Australian Open the Indian doubles specialist had won 47 career doubles titles with 11 different partners, including one with Stepanek, who now claims his first Grand Slam doubles title.
"I know what this means for him (Paes) because this title was missing from his career Grand Slam, and I'm happy I can be by his side," Stepanek said.
The two danced around the court gleefully after their win, which comes on the day that Bob Bryan's wife is expecting their first baby.
"She's probably going to deliver tomorrow so thanks baby, thanks for holding it in for me," he said.
Serve dominated in the first set with just a single break point for each pairing and no breaks of serve, but unseeded Paes and Stepanek stepped up their game in the tie-break to take it 7-1.
The fired-up Indian-Czech pairing finally broke the Bryans' serve in the second game of the second set and looked like they would run away with the match.
The Americans, with 76 titles together, stopped the rot by holding in the fourth game but they could not reverse the momentum and were broken again to slip to a comprehensive defeat.
Paes and Stepanek, playing in just their fourth Tour-level event together, had lost to the Bryan brothers in straight sets in both their previous meetings.
The result means the Bryans remain on 11 titles, sharing the record for the number of men's titles in the open era with Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.
The 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory was the first for India's Paes over American twins Bob and Mike Bryan in a final after five defeats in title matches, and means he completes a career Grand Slam of doubles titles.
Coming into the Australian Open the Indian doubles specialist had won 47 career doubles titles with 11 different partners, including one with Stepanek, who now claims his first Grand Slam doubles title.
"I know what this means for him (Paes) because this title was missing from his career Grand Slam, and I'm happy I can be by his side," Stepanek said.
The two danced around the court gleefully after their win, which comes on the day that Bob Bryan's wife is expecting their first baby.
"She's probably going to deliver tomorrow so thanks baby, thanks for holding it in for me," he said.
Serve dominated in the first set with just a single break point for each pairing and no breaks of serve, but unseeded Paes and Stepanek stepped up their game in the tie-break to take it 7-1.
The fired-up Indian-Czech pairing finally broke the Bryans' serve in the second game of the second set and looked like they would run away with the match.
The Americans, with 76 titles together, stopped the rot by holding in the fourth game but they could not reverse the momentum and were broken again to slip to a comprehensive defeat.
Paes and Stepanek, playing in just their fourth Tour-level event together, had lost to the Bryan brothers in straight sets in both their previous meetings.
The result means the Bryans remain on 11 titles, sharing the record for the number of men's titles in the open era with Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde.
Australian Open 2012: Maria Sharapova crushed by Victoria Azarenka in women's final in Melbourne
The 22-year-old's first grand slam title also means that she will become the new world number one when the WTA rankings are released on Monday.
With both players virtually carbon copies of each other, Azarenka's footwork and superior speed around the court proved to be the difference as the duo hammered away at each other from the baseline.
Sharapova broke the first game of the match and took a 2-0 lead when she held but was never in the match from then on, with the Belarusian winning 12 of the next 13 games and sealing the title when the Russian hit a backhand into the net.
Sania-Vesnina lose in Australian Open semis
The sixth seeded pair lost 6-7, 6-2, 4-6 to the unseeded Russian pair of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva after a tough battle of 2 hours 33 minutes.
Sania and Vesnina smashed a massive 47 winners in contrast to 29 by Kuznetsova and Zvonareva but the Indo-Russian duo also made more than double their opponent's unforced errors. They had 51 unforced errors to their names as opposed to 24 by the Russian pair.
Sania and Vesnina had earlier upset second seeds Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber to make the semis at Melbourne Park.
Sania-Elena pair reaches Aus Open semis
In 2011, she had reached the Wimbledon semis with Elena, losing to Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik.
Sania and Elena will now fight it out with the Russian combo of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva for a place in the summit clash.
The other semifinal will be played between the 11th seeded Italian pair of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci and seventh seeded Czech combination of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.
The deciding third set lasted 93 minutes, which was more than the duration of the first two sets.
Sania and Elena saved eight breakpoints in the third set, apart from converting two and dropping their serve twice in the final set.In the match tie-break, the two pairs were going neck and neck but Sania and Elena held their nerves and clinched the issue.
Meanwhile, in the junior competition, Rutuja Bhonsle and Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi came from behind to reach quarter-finals of the girls doubles quarter-finals.
They beat the Australian pair of Naiktha Bains and Danielle Wagland 5-7 6-2 10-5 in the second round clash.
They face Irina Maria Bara of Romania and Latavia's Jelena Ostapenko, who got a second-round walkover from second seeds Dutch Indy De Vroome and Estonia's Anett Kontaveit.
Sania in quarters of women's and mixed doubles at Australian Open
India's Sania Mirza is through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open tennis with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi in the mixed doubles and Russian Elena Vesnina in the women's doubles here on Monday. The Indo-Russian pair won 7-5, 6-3 against the American-Australian combine of Jarmila Gajdosova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Sania and Elena will next face second seeds Liezel Huber of South Africa and Lisa Raymond of the US in the quarterfinals.
In the mixed doubles, Sania-Bhupathi, winners in 2009, entered the last eight with a hard fought win over the Czech-Austrian pair of Iveta Benesova and Jurgen Melzer. The super tie-break went down to the wire but the Indians held their nerve for a 3-6, 6-4, 12-10 victory.Earlier, Rohan Bopanna reached the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Lisa Raymond, beating Australia's Casey Dellacqua and Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-2 in the second round. Bopanna-Raymond will play the winners of the match between Leander Paes and Elena and Su-Wei Hsieh and Marcin Matkowski.
In the juniors, India's Rutuja Bhosale and Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi beat Ratnika Batra, also from India, and Australia's Georgiana Ruhrig 1-6, 6-4, 10-5 to advance to second round in the girls' doubles event.
Maria Sharapova battles into Australian Open quarters
ELBOURNE: Russia's Maria Sharapova battled back from a set down to beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki on Monday to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals, her best performance since lifting the title in 2008. The fourth seed won 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in 2hr 15 min to set up a last-eight clash with fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who stunned Serena Williams earlier.
The 24-year-old Sharapova has now reached the quarter-finals or better in Melbourne five times, but this is the first time she has progressed so far since being crowned champion four years ago.
"I had lots of ups and downs today so I was fortunate to finish on a high note," she said.
"She was a good opponent and playing with confidence. I'm happy that although I didn't play my best tennis I hung in there."
Sharapova started with a blaze of attacking shots and broke Lisicki's first two service games with a series of punishing ground strokes.
But the gritty German refused to give in and slowly fought her way back into the match.
Using clever changes of pace and some deceptive serving, Lisicki didn't allow the much taller Sharapova to find any rhythm and the Russian's game began to fall apart.
Lisicki won the next six games to claim the first set in 36 minutes before Sharapova could stop the rot. The fourth seed then took control of the second set, breaking Lisicki twice to win the set and send the match into a decider.
The turning point came in the third game of the third set when Lisicki had five break points but couldn't convert any of them. Three games later Sharapova broke the German to gain a crucial 4-2 advantage.
Sharapova saved another break point to go to a 5-2 lead and brought up her first match point on Lisicki's serve.
The German held and forced Sharapova to serve for the match, but she kept her nerve and claimed victory on her second match point courtesy of a swinging serve to Lisicki's backhand.
The victory means Sharapova retains a chance of finishing the Australian Open as world number one, along with current incumbent Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka, all of whom are in the quarter-finals.
Former champions Williams, Sharapova into third round at Australian Open
Former champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova dropped a combined five games to reach the third round of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
Five-time winner Williams, the No. 12 seed from the U.S., followed Sharapova’s 6-0, 6-1 victory against unseeded American Jamie Hampton by defeating Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.
Williams’s 500th career victory extended her streak at Melbourne Park to 16 straight wins after back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. She missed the season-opening Grand Slam last year as she recovered from two operations on her foot. Her preparations this year were disrupted by an ankle sprain.
“It’s fine,” Williams said of the injury in a televised interview. “I just have really wobbly ankles. I wasn’t meant to be like a ballerina or anything.”
No. 4 seed Sharapova, one of four women who can finish the year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament as the WTA’s No. 1- ranked player, is playing in her first event since October following a left ankle sprain. The Russian has dropped just two games in Melbourne, where she spent nearly two weeks ahead of the tournament while she rested her injured ankle.
“The goal is to get through and keep playing more,” Sharapova, who struck almost four times as many winners as the 144th-ranked Hampton, said in a news conference. “It’s just about taking it one at a time and improving, because it’s only going to get tougher from here.”
No. 13 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, whom Sharapova beat in the 2008 final in Melbourne to win her third Grand Slam title, sealed a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Michaella Krijicek of the Netherlands moments later on the No. 2 Hisense Arena court.
No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia defeated Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), while No. 25 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia and 29th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova lost.
Juan Ignacio Chela, the No. 27 from Argentina, and 23rd- seeded Canadian Milos Raonic were among the early men’s seeds to advance on day four, when top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia continues his title defense against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. Fourth seed Andy Murray of Britain meets Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.
No. 8 Mardy Fish of the U.S. became the highest-ranked man to go out of the tournament yesterday. Defending women’s champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark reached the third round.
Second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park, while No. 3 Roger Federer of Switzerland had a walkover to the third round when German Andreas Beck withdrew with a lower back injury.
Five-time winner Williams, the No. 12 seed from the U.S., followed Sharapova’s 6-0, 6-1 victory against unseeded American Jamie Hampton by defeating Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-0, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena.
Williams’s 500th career victory extended her streak at Melbourne Park to 16 straight wins after back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. She missed the season-opening Grand Slam last year as she recovered from two operations on her foot. Her preparations this year were disrupted by an ankle sprain. “It’s fine,” Williams said of the injury in a televised interview. “I just have really wobbly ankles. I wasn’t meant to be like a ballerina or anything.”
No. 4 seed Sharapova, one of four women who can finish the year’s first Grand Slam tennis tournament as the WTA’s No. 1- ranked player, is playing in her first event since October following a left ankle sprain. The Russian has dropped just two games in Melbourne, where she spent nearly two weeks ahead of the tournament while she rested her injured ankle.
“The goal is to get through and keep playing more,” Sharapova, who struck almost four times as many winners as the 144th-ranked Hampton, said in a news conference. “It’s just about taking it one at a time and improving, because it’s only going to get tougher from here.”
No. 7 seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia defeated Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), while No. 25 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia and 29th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova lost.
Juan Ignacio Chela, the No. 27 from Argentina, and 23rd- seeded Canadian Milos Raonic were among the early men’s seeds to advance on day four, when top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia continues his title defense against Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. Fourth seed Andy Murray of Britain meets Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.
No. 8 Mardy Fish of the U.S. became the highest-ranked man to go out of the tournament yesterday. Defending women’s champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark reached the third round.
Second-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain beat Tommy Haas of Germany 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park, while No. 3 Roger Federer of Switzerland had a walkover to the third round when German Andreas Beck withdrew with a lower back injury.
