sania mirza biodata

Tennis sensation Sania Mirza is a well known Tennis player. Sania Mirza plays for India. Do you want to know more about Sania Mirza. Tennis is passion of Sania Mirza and started playing the game from the age of 3. Sania Mirza father gives her the coaching.

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.

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SANIA MIRZA

Sania Mirza (born November 15, 1986) is an Indian tennis player. She was born in Mumbai, brought up in Hyderabad. Coached by her father, Imran Mirza, she began playing tennis at the age of six, turning professional in 2003. She is the highest ranked female tennis player ever from India, with a career high ranking of 27 in singles and 18 in doubles. She was ranked 31st in the singles category and 18th in the doubles category in the WTA rankings of January 7, 2008,

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Serena Williams withdraws from Australian Open 2011

When Serena Williams withdrew from the Hopman Cup it was hinted that she could also skip the 2011 Australian Open, but now it is official that Serena will not be defending her title at the Grand Slam in Melbourne. The reason is again her foot injury, which has been standing behind her withdrawals from tournaments ever since she won Wimbledon in the middle of the past season. Here’s part of Serena’s statement: ''As I recently learned, pushing myself back into my intense training too early only caused me further injury and damage. While I desperately want to be back on the court and competing in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, it is imperative for my health that I continue to work with my doctors to ensure my foot heals properly. This decision, though heavy on my heart, is the right one. I am praying for a healthy recovery and I promise my Aussie fans and my fans around the world that I will be back better than ever as soon as I can be.'' As you can see, the actual moment Serena will finally come back to competitive tennis is still absolutely unknown. (source: Tennis Australia,)

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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.

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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.

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Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis clinch title in Guangzhou

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis maintained their impressive run as they clinched their sixth women’s doubles title of the year by winning the Guangzhou Open on Saturday..

 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.

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Sharapova wins

World No.3 women's singles star Maria Sharapova bounced back from her disappointing recent run of results to defeat Timea Bacsinszky and reach the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament here on Sunday. 

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.

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Azarenka wins Sydney tennis title

Known best for the sounds she makes on court, Victoria Azarenka will instead head to Melbourne Park with plenty of noise being made about her Australian Open chances after the Belarusian took out the Sydney International on Friday night.
The 22-year-old overcame a second-set lapse to down defending champion Li Na 6-2 1-6 6-3 at Sydney Olympic Park.
One of the noisiest players on tour – who grunted her way to the 95 decibel mark during her semi-final run to Wimbledon last year – Azarenka instead turned up the volume on her powerful ground strokes, giving Li the run around from the back of the court.
While much of the focus this week has been on the battle for the world No.1 between incumbent Caroline Wozniacki and her suitor Petra Kvitova, Azarenka has quietly consolidated her No.3 ranking and must be considered a serious threat in Melbourne.
A 2005 junior Australian Open champion, Azarenka was a stealthy mover on the tour last year, rising from tenth in the world to her current ranking thanks to three titles and consistent results at the four grand slams.
She fairly blasted through the first set on Friday night, ripping winners at will, particularly on the backhand flank.
But the errors that tallied so swiftly for Li in the opener began to dwindle in the second set, China’s No.1 player taking it comfortably as she began to eye off her first tournament win since last year’s French Open.
After games had stayed on serve at 4-3 in the decider Azarenka then found an extra gear, breaking her opponent to serve for the match.
Also known on occasion for her fragile temperament, Azarenka steeled herself during a tense game to serve out the match, calmly blunting several break back opportunities to snare the title.
Despite the loss, Li will also have plenty of confidence heading to Melbourne.
She is 18-2 in singles matches in Australia over the last year, her only losses across four tournaments coming on Friday night and in the final of the grand slam opener of 2011 against Kim Clijsters

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Sania-Cara record nervy win, enter WTA Finals

Hyderabad: Sania Mirza capped her highly successful year on the tennis circuit by winning the prestigious WTA Finals in Singapore on Sunday.

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.

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Sachin Tendulkar Biography

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar was born on April 24, 1973 in Mumbai, India. He went to Shradashram Vidyamandir, a high school in Mumbai, where he began his cricketing career under his coach Ramakant Achrekar. He attended the MRF Pace Foundation during his schooldays to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who saw him training, was not much impressed and suggested that Tendulkar should focus on his batting instead. As a young boy,Tendulkar would practice for hours at the net, and was driven hard by his coach Achrekar.While at school, his extraordinary batting skills got noticed by the sports circuit. People felt that the young boy would soon become one of the greats in cricket. In the 1988 season, he scored a century in every inning that he played. In one of the inter school matches that year, he had an unbroken 664-run partnership with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli.When he was 14,Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar a great Indian batsman of that time,gave him a pair of his own light pads. This touching gesture greatly encouraged the budding cricketer, who 20 years later broke Gavaskar’s world record of 34 Test centuries.In 1988, when he was just under 16, he scored 100 not out in for Bombay against Gujrat. This was on his first-class debut. He then scored a century in his first appearance in the Deodhar and Duleep Trophy. Mumbai captain Dilip Vengsarkar picked him up after seeing him batting Kapil Dev in the nets. That season he was Bombay’s highest run-getter.In the Irani Trophy final, He made an unbeaten century. He scored a century in all three of his Irani Trophy, Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy debuts, and became the first player to do so.He was selected for the tour of Pakistan next year.At the very young age of 16,Sachin played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989. In this Test, he received several blows to his body at the hands of Waqar Younis, a pace bowler. He made just 15 runs. In the last test in Sialkot, he had a bloody nose from a bouncer,but he went on playing. He scored better in the subsequent games, scoring 53 runs of 18 balls at Peshawar.In the 1990 Test in England he scored a century at Old Trafford.The English were highly impressed by his disciplined display of immense maturity. He played many types of strokes. His off-side shots from the back foot greatly impressed the English.Though short in height, he confidently faced short deliveries from the English pace bowlers.His great performance made him look the embodiment of Gavaskar, India’s former famous opener.During the 1991-1992 tour of Australia Tendulkar scored and unbeaten 148 in Sydney and another century on a bouncing pitch a Perth.At the age of 19, Tendulkar was in England, playing for Yorkshire in 1992. He scored 1070 runs at an average of 45.25 while playing for the English county as the first overseas player.In the 2003 Cricket World Cup,he made 873 runs in 11 matches which enabled India reach the final. Although Australia won the trophy Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award.Shortly after this Tendulkar developed a tennis elbow and he was out of cricket for a while.But by 2005, he was back in form. He played well againstAustralia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.Tendulkar performed very well against Bangla Desh and he was adjudged the Man of the Series in the Future Cup against South Africa.Today Tendulkar is a national icon to fans all over the world.He is the most worshipped cricketer in the world. Tendulkarhas been granted the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Vibhushan by the Indian government.Personal Life In 1995, Sachin married Anjali, a doctor and the daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta. They have two children,Sara and Arjun. Tendulkar now sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through a Mumbai-based NGO.

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Sania Mirza gives birth to baby boy

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.

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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.

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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.

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Fang Bo reaches semis at World TT

Suzhou (China), May 2: Chinese star Ma Long whitewashed Hong Kong's Tang Peng 4-0 for a spot in the men's singles semifinals at the World Table Tennis Championships here on Saturday.

Ma, 26, underlined his status as World No.1 as he defeated Tang 11-7, 11-9, 11-6, 11-1, reports Xinhua.

"I got into my game slowly, and my opponent knows me very well, so he knows how to beat me," Tang said.

Ma's looking for his first world title after being stopped three times at the semifinals in the past and he shall be taking on either German veteran Timo Boll or teammate Fan Zhengdong in the other semifinal.

"No matter who I meet, I won't have any pressure. I just want to do my job," said Ma.

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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.”

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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

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Sania Mirza, Mattek-Sands win doubles title

Dubai: India's Sania Mirza clinched her second doubles title of the season after she combined with partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands to defeat Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik in the title clash of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, here.
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.

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NBA - Garnett, Rondo pace Celtics over Bulls

(Reuters) - Kevin Garnett
and Rajon Rondo led all
five Boston starters into
double-digit scoring as the
Celtics eased to a 104-92
victory over the Chicago
Bulls on Friday.
The Atlantic Division-leading
Celtics have won six consecutive
games to improve to 15-4, while
the Bulls have lost two in a row
to slip to 9-8 for the season.
Garnett had 20 points and a
season-high 17 rebounds and
Rondo scored 12 points and had
19 assists. Fellow starters Paul
Pierce scored 18 points, Ray
Allen added 14 and Shaquille
O'Neal scored 12.
Derrick Rose led the Bulls with
20 points, despite shooting just
7-for-17.
"I really liked the way Kevin
(Garnett) asserted himself on
both sides tonight," Pierce said.
"He stepped up to the challenge,
guarding (Joakim) Noah,
guarding (Carlos) Boozer,
knowing that's the meat of their
front line.
"He went out there trying to be
better than everybody. That's the
vintage Kevin we know. He's
shown a lot of flashes of his old
self this week."
The Celtics opened the third
quarter with a 17-6 run to
stretch their 53-48 halftime lead
to 16 points, led by Rondo, who
scored eight points during the
stretch.
Noah had a double-double for
Chicago with 14 points and 11
rebounds, but lost his head-to-
head battle with Garnett.
"It's tough because we lost right
now, but you know they're a hell
of a team and that's what we're
striving to be, one of the best
teams in the game," said Noah,
son of former French Open
tennis champion Yannick.
Boston started the game quickly
and opened a 14-point first
quarter lead but with the Celtics
starters benched, the Bulls
rallied in the second quarter to
tie the game on three occasions.
"We have to do a better job
containing the ball," Bulls coach
Tom Thibodeau said. "Our weak
side has to be more alert. We
have to have better body
position on cuts. We have to
defend with greater intensity."

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Women's Player of the Year: Petra Kvitova

Until the middle of 2011, it was hard to know exactly what to make of Petra Kvitova. The 21-year-old lefthander from the Czech Republic could belt the ball with the best of them, maybe even better than the best of them when she had a moment to set up for a shot. But just when she reached a point where you thought she might break through and do something significant, she didn’t.

Kvitova began the year ranked No. 34, and she looked menacing through the first week in Australia. Then she didn’t show up for her quarterfinal with Vera Zvonareva. She looked very good again in the early stages at Roland Garros, before collapsing with a one-set lead over eventual champion Li Na.

All this time, though, Kvitova’s ranking had been rising, and she came to Wimbledon at a career-high No. 8. That number didn’t do justice to her potential, though, and she finally proved it over the course of the fortnight. Swinging with the self-assurance of a veteran, Kvitova rolled over Maria Sharapova in her first Grand Slam final.

The roller coaster wasn’t over, though, and that startling upswing on Centre Court was followed by an equally startling downer at the U.S. Open, where Kvitova was sent out in the first round. By the year-ender in Istanbul, though, she had found her game again. More crucially, she seemed to have found, for the first time, a way to win when she wasn’t playing her best. Kvitova went undefeated in five matches against the Top 8 players in the world, and reclaimed the future of women’s tennis.

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