One teenager shines as another struggles

There were the occasional hints of Sania Mirza mania on Show Court 3 Thursday morning: a couple in wide-brimmed straw hats who kept trying t...

There were the occasional hints of Sania Mirza mania on Show Court 3 Thursday morning: a couple in wide-brimmed straw hats who kept trying to get a cheer started; a man several rows behind them who was waving a banner that read, 8220;Come on Sania UR 1 in a billion.8221;

But in between the big blocks of empty seats in the late-morning heat, it was actually easier to find signs of support for Mirza8217;s second-round opponent, Michaella Krajicek, the 17-year-old who is the half sister of Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion.

The Dutch fans in their orange T-shirts and orange wigs made a great deal more noise than the few Indians in attendance, but then they had much more to make noise about as Krajicek won, 6-3, 6-4.

A year ago, Mirza was the teenager with the convincing forehand and no-big-questions-asked attitude who made it to the third round in her first Australian Open.

At that stage, she was not yet a national icon: not yet socially significant enough for people to begin taking her professional success and assertive attitude as a symbol of deeper currents at work in India; not yet prominent enough to be the target of a religious fatwa, which was issued last year by a Muslim cleric who did not approve of her skin-exposing attire.

It has all been a great deal for a 19-year-old to digest, even one as bright and self-confident as Mirza, and the truth is that her game remains a work in progress, even when she is not wearing heavy tape on her left knee to help alleviate chronic tendinitis.

8216;8216;Nothing happens overnight or even over a month in tennis8217;8217;, said Mirza, who has been working with Tony Roche to improve her relatively weak serve. 8216;8216;It8217;s going to take a few months. That8217;s probably the reason I didn8217;t play as well today.8217;8217;

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8216;8216;It8217;s very hard to come out with a changed serve and try to put it all together in one of my first tournaments.8217;8217;

Roche was not there to observe all that still needs to be done. He was in the men8217;s locker room, helping his primary pupil, Roger Federer, get ready for his second-round match with Germany8217;s Florian Mayer.

But the harder task for Roche is going to be improving Mirza8217;s mobility and athleticism. Though she was seeded 32nd here, it might not be long 8212; from the looks of the ground strokes and service returns and court coverage on Thursday 8212; before Krajicek, currently ranked 43, has a lower number next to her famous name than Mirza at a major tournament.

The New York Times