Sania breezes into Round 2

Sania Mirza shrugged off recent controversies and minor niggles to sail past Uzbekistan8217;s Iroda Tulyaganova...

Sania Mirza shrugged off recent controversies and minor niggles to sail past Uzbekistan8217;s Iroda Tulyaganova in straight sets to advance to the second round of the Australian Open here today.

The Indian, seeded 31, beat Tulyaganova 6-4 6-2 in little over an hour long tie to set up a clash with Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky, who beat Australian Sophie Ferguson 6-4 6-3.

But after the match, she said that tired of being dragged into various off-court controversies time and again, she was considered quitting tennis last week.

The world No. 31 from India, often in the eye of the storm, said she found it tough to deal with question marks on her loyalty towards the country after being photographed at the Hopman Cup in Perth, with her bare feet positioned near the Indian national flag and was charged for 8220;disrespecting8221; the Tricolour.

8220;It8217;s not easy to deal with things like that off the court, there are some misunderstandings happening,8221; Sania said.

The 21-year-old, who was also battling injuries that cut short her season last year, was rusty to start with and wasted a couple of break points besides committing 11 unforced errors in the opener.

But Tulyaganova8217;s patchy form worked to Sania8217;s advantage and the Indian wrested the first set after a 40-minute see-saw battle. Sania then showed some fine form in the second set and broke Tulyaganova twice.

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She also held all her serves and won the set in just 29 minutes.

The Hyderabadi ace said despite the off-court distractions, her focus on the game has not wavered but warned that she was not immune to controversies, which have plagued her ever since she started her career.

8220;I8217;m at a Slam and the most important thing is to play tennis. I8217;m not superhuman so it does affect me a little bit no matter how much I try to block it out, it8217;s still at the back of your mind,8221; she said.

Sania defended herself by saying: 8220;I wouldn8217;t do anything to disrespect my country, I love my country. I wouldn8217;t be playing Hopman Cup otherwise. But other than that, I am not allowed to comment because it is in the court.8221;

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She added: 8220;It does play on your mind8230; I am not a politician to outsmart people. That8217;s not what I am trying to do. I am trying to play tennis. I8217;m 21 and trying to be the best I can be.8221;

On Indian cricket8217;s recent controvery over Harbhajan being labeled a racist and poor umpiring harming their cause, she said: 8220;At the end of the day, it is a sport. And we deal with bad line calls on a daily basis. I have my own set of controversies to deal with.8221;

Sania also rubbished the claims of corruption in women8217;s tennis. 8220;I8217;ve never been approached and I don8217;t personally know anyone who has been. As far as we know, women8217;s tennis is clean. A lot has happened of course in the men8217;s.8221;