Sania on high Down Under

For Sania, her Ukrainian opponent was the player who beat the then No 23 seed Jelena Jankovic last year to enter Round 3, incidentally her best Slam show. However, Mirza who has had one of the strongest two months of her career — reaching the final of the Asian Games, competing well at the Hopman Cup and reaching the semi-finals in Hobart — was high on confidence and ready to overcome any hurdle.

While the first set was a breeze, Sania’s fitness — something she so earnestly worked on in December — was distinctly visible. A toned upperbody and a faster on-court movement made her the more accomplished performer of the two.

Pegging along level at 10 games, Sania faced two break-points that could easily have tilted the balance of the match. However, while Sania fought off the ‘disadvantage’, Olga, in contrast, failed in the next to allow Sania a smile. Consider this: Olga’s break-point conversion stood at a poor 13 per cent, managing to convert only one of the eight she forced, unlike Sania who converted four from the 10 that came her way.

With Sania benefitting five points courtesy Olga’s double faults — Sania incidentally had five — just 10 points (85-75) separated the winner from loser.

Having survived the intense heat today, Sania believes that “she’s a more complete player now.” Though doubts still crop about her weak serve — against Olga she had an average 50 per cent first serve that she made up by maintaining a high first serve winning percent (70 per cent) — Sania says “I’m fitter and although my serve is still weak, I know I can eventually turn it into strength.”

However, the key in her rousing success so far has been the fact that this is the first time in six months that she is not dealing with an injury. “My goal for this year is to stay healthy the whole time because I know that if I do, I can play freer.”

While the millions hope that she does continue, next up is Aiko Nakamura of Japan. A win would take her win-loss (W/L) Slam career record — which currently stands at 9-8 — to double digits, which by far will be a first for an Indian woman.