Sania Mirza starts with a victory
Sania Mirza, the tennis ace from India made an impressive come back to the courts after her marriage with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on Monday. In the first round of the AEGON Classic, Sania defeated the 83rd ranked Chan Yung-Jan of Chinese Taipei with a score line of 6-1, 6-4. Only last year, Sania Mirza powered into the semi-finals of the last season but lost. Mirza’s current form is under doubt as she stands on the 91st place in the ATP world rankings.
As a result of this victory, Sania Mirza has entered the second round where she will meet 14th seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn from Thailand.
Tanasugarn, in her clash against the American Lilia Osterloh won the match with a 6-2, 6-2 score. Sania Mirza played the match with a great amount of confidence and it did not look as if she had ever stepped out of a tennis court. Her footwork was brilliant and she moved swiftly across the court. However, the fact of the matter is that the Indian tennis player remained away from the game for a period of three months.
Sania Mirza clarified that her marriage will not affect her game of tennis at any stage of her career and there would be no distraction on her part as well. However, she gave a clue of her retirement by saying that she might resign from the sport after a period of two years in order to give all her time to her home and family. Sania added that it’s hard to live and maintain long distance relationships with her husband Shoaib Malik. But it’s just a matter of two years and then things will be settled once she retires from the sports.
Marriage is another phase of life and every human being has to enter this phase sooner or later. However, the decision to wait for his career to finish first varies from one sportsman to another. Sania Mirza considers marriage as a personal matter that has nothing to do with her professional life. They are two different things all together so there is no question of distraction as a result of marriage.
Sania Mirza seemed contented and satisfied after winning the match. She looked healthy while competing throughout the contest. This victory was surely a confidence booster for Sania who made a comeback in this match. Mirza had taken a few months off in order to concentrate on her marital life completely.
Political and religious groups in India had criticized her decision to marry Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik due to hostile relations between the two countries. In the streets of Bhopal in India, posters depicting the 23-year-old Sania were burnt to protest against the marriage. The situation went out of hand when an attempt was made to stop her from participating in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad party.
But, with the wave of agitation slowing down, Sania has managed to make a comeback to tennis. More importantly, the girl immediately discovered her form on the grass courts of Birmingham by swatting aside Taipei, a 20 years old tennis player from China.
Meanwhile, Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand won the match 6-2, 6-2 against Lilia Osterloh who hails from America. Tamarine is also a quarter-finalist at the 2008 Wimbledon in Championship.
Laura Robson from Britain cruised to the second round as Stefanie Voegele, her Swiss opponent retired from the match in the second game of the match. Laura had to apologize last week for her silly comments about her fellow tennis players in front of the media. Robson grabbed the first set of the match with 6 sets to 4. The player has won the junior championship at Wimbledon in 2008.
Michelle Larcher De Brito from Portugal has succeeded in gaining good ground. The girl is famous for her ear-piercing voice while hitting the ball.
Larcher De Brito has also stepped into the second round with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Dzehalevich.
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