Bitter-sweet lesson for Sania

For Sania Mirza, more than losing the Forest Hills Classic final what would haunt her for a long time is the fact that she conceded match-po...

For Sania Mirza, more than losing the Forest Hills Classic final what would haunt her for a long time is the fact that she conceded match-point advantage.

Having won the first set against Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova, Sania was up 5-4 on her opponent’s serve. It included a couple of match points which Sania could not hold. Thus, for the fourth time Sania failed to get past a south-pawed Czech Republic player. Sania’s coach John Farrington says, ‘‘It is something a player learns when cornered in a tight situation. It’s all in the mind and there are several factors that go into doing a player in.’’

Farrington explains, ‘‘Staying calm and talking to oneself so as to tone down tension levels is the best way to go about it.’’Farrington believes that the result was not disappointing. ‘‘The scores were not one-sided,’’ he says and explains that Safarova hit the ball well and better. The difference, according to him, was Safarova’s big serves, which were consistent even when she was trailing.

Farrington strongly feels losing is necessary so that one gets back to the practice courts to rectify the mistakes. He voices the fact that beating a Top-10 player ‘‘does not’’ necessarily mean you can beat anyone. ‘‘At this level, it’s a matter of playing the one odd point well.”

EXCLUSIVE: EC brings in feature to check misuse of identity to seek voter list deletions

Political Pulse1 hr ago

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