Back in the reckoning

It has been more than a while since Sania Mirza last made it to the final of a WTA tour event...

It has been more than a while since Sania Mirza last made it to the final of a WTA tour event 2007 to be precise and after practically being written off post her career-threatening wrist injury,the 22-year-old made a strong statement on Saturday by reaching the final of the Pattaya Open in Thailand. Sania survived a lapse in the second set to defeat eighth seed Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4 5-7 6-1 in her semi-final match.

Its exciting to have reached a tour final after so long,especially after such a serious injury, said Sania after her win. Her Slovakian opponent kept herself in the match after walking away with a hard fought second set,but she was blown away by the Indian in the decider,managing to win just a single game.

A couple of close line calls went against me and I missed a 5-4,30-15 point by an inch,which would have given me two match points in the second set. But these things happen and Im happy I found the strength to come back in the third set, she explained the slight wobble in the match.

Sania had pulled off a big win over sixth seed Tamarine Tanasugarn on Friday,managing to overcome even the loud local support for her Thai opponent. Rybarikova too had notched up an upset of her own,taking out second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the quarter-finals.

But none of this was on the Indians mind as she turned up on court. Whenever I get on to the court for a match,I feel I have as good a chance as my opponent across the net and Ive never let their reputations or rankings unsettle me, said Sania.

In the third set,Ryabrikova had to call the trainer on court for treatment regarding a back injury,and subsequently,her movement was hampered. Sania went for the kill in the final set,and put in a strong show to take the match in three sets after two hours of play.

In the final,she will face top seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia,who defeated Israels Shahar Peer 6-1 6-4 in the other semi-final. The Indian will have to hope her powerful forehand can combat the Russians serve,which was never under pressure through her match against Peer. The two have met earlier on the WTA circuit,with Sania the surprise winner on that occasion on the hard courts in Tokyo. Is she thinking of another upset this time around too? I dont think I have anything to lose against a player ranked No 5 in the world, is all she is willing to say on the matter.

Bopanna-Nieminen storm into semi-finals

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San Jose: India8217;s Rohan Bopanna and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland shocked Australian Open champions Bob and Mike Bryans to enter the semi-finals of the 600,000 SAP Open on Saturday.

The unseeded Indo-Finn pair beat the top seeded Bryan twins 6-4 4-6 10-5. The Indo-Finnish pair next plays Australian Stephen Huss and British Ross Hutchins,who beat Americans Robby Ginepri and Travis Rettenmaier 6-4 7-64.