Sania’s first stop at US Open: Washington

But more importantly, she created a ripple exactly a year back when — as a wild card player — she defeated Maria Sharapova after her Wimbledon title.

Sharapova talked about her opponent’s strong serve, solid double handed backhand — the two things that Sania has to take note of when she takes court in the first round.

Mashona, unlike Sania, had to wait for 10 years to break into the top 100 and 50. After a career high of 51 in 2004, Mashona got the ‘Player to look out for’ tag in 2005 from the USTA.

With very little to chose between rankings (Sania: 50 and Mashona: 56), one advantage that Sania can boast of is better hard court record. A 19-9 (W/L) record — barring the on-going Forest Hill tournament — is far superior to the 2-3 record of Mashona.