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Sania rises to 37th in WTA rankings
April 17, 2006, 10:12 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

New Delhi: Her inability to break the singles jinx this year notwithstanding, Sania Mirza has climbed three rungs to finish 37th in the latest WTA rankings.Sania has 516.75 singles ranking points and has also improved her doubles standings, rising five places to be at the 40th spot with 793.50 points.The improvement in the doubles rankings follows her runner-up finish at the 600,000 Bausch and Laumb tennis championship yesterday. She partnered South African Liezel Huber during the tournament.The next Indian in the singles list, the US-based Shikha Uberoi, is way down at the 180th spot with 150.50 points followed by Ankita Bhambri (60.25), who has jumped 20 places to 337th place.
Veteran Rushmi Chakravarthi (49.75) remains static at 369th and Ankita’s sister Sanaa (33.25) is the next to follow at 453.The top 10 names in the list continue to remain unchanged except for American Lindsay Davenport, who has slipped one place to the sixth allowing French Mary Pierce to rise to the fifth.French Amelie Mauresmo (3511) is at the top with Belgians Kim Clijsters (2941) and Justine Henin-Hardenne (2858) at the second and third spot respectively.Top 10: 1. Amelie Mauresmo (France) 3511, 2. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) 2941, 3. Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 2858, 4. Maria Sharapova (Russia) 2753, 6. Mary Pierce (France) 2411, 5. Lindsay Davenport (US) 2329, 7. Nadia Petrova (Russia) 2305, 8. Elena Dementieva (Russia) 2086, 9. Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 1906, 10. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 1503



Sania-Huber falter at last hurdle in Florida
April 17, 2006, 10:10 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

“New Delhi: Sania Mirza and Liezel Huber saw their golden streak come to an end as they faltered at the last hurdle at the USD 600,000 Bausch and Lomb Championships on the WTA Tour in Florida, USA.The unseeded Indo-South African pair went down 6-2 6-4 to Shinobu Asagoe of Japan and Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik in the final at Amelia Island on Sunday.Sania and Huber were chasing their third title together, having won at Hyderabad in 2004 and Bangalore earlier this season.They had knocked out second seeds Virgina Ruano Pascual of Spain and American Meghan Shaughnessy in the semifinals on Saturday.The final lasted an hour and 17 minutes.It was third title together for Asagoe and Srebotnik who had upset No.3 seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva earlier in the tournament.”



Sania-Huber storm into doubles final
April 17, 2006, 10:07 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

“Sania Mirza and South African Liezel Huber shocked second seeds Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and American Meghann Shaughnessy to storm into the doubles final of the USD 600,000 Bausch and Lomb Championships on the WTA Tour in Florida, USA.The unseeded Indo-South African combination defeated Pascual and Shaughnessy 6-4 6-4 in the semifinals of the hard court women’s tennis event at Amelia Islands on Saturday.Sania and Liezel will play in the final Shinobu Asagoe of Japan and Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik who earned their berth after Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Italy’s Francesca Schiavone retired with the scores at 6-7 (2), 6-4.”



Sania-Huber in last eight
April 17, 2006, 10:04 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza and Liezel Huber were stretched by Lino Dominguez and Medina Garrigues before advancing to the quarter-finals in the Amelia Island tennis tournament.

The Indo-South African pair beat the Spanish duo 7-6(7), 6-7(6), 6-3.

In an evenly balanced contest on Wednesday, Sania and Huber won the first set over the tie-breaker at 9-7, but the Spanish girls, despite trailing, mounted pressure and forced another tie-breaker in the second set, which they won 8-6.

But just when Sania-Huber started looking out of sorts, Lino-Medina ran out of steam. They were broken twice and Indo-South African pair comfortably sealed the decider at 6-3.

In the quarterfinals, they meet Nicole Pratt and Bryanne Stewart of Australia.
On Tuesday, Sania was knocked out 3-6, 4-6 by American Lisa Raymond in the first round of the singles.



Sania loses in first round
April 17, 2006, 10:01 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza suffered another first round exit as she bowed out of the USD 600,000 Bausch and Lomb Championships in Florida, on Tuesday.The 19-year old went down 6-3, 6-4 to 32-year-old American Lisa Raymond at the hard court event.Raymond will face Switzerland’s second seed Patty Schnyder in the second round.Sania is also taking part in the doubles event. She and partner Liezel Huber of South Africa will face the Spanish pairing of Lourdes Dominguez Lino and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round on Wednesday.



Sania moves up to 39th
April 17, 2006, 9:59 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

New Delhi: Sania Mirza jumped two places up to 39th in the latest WTA Rankings announced on Monday.The Indian had made the first round exit at the tier I tournament at Key Biscayne in Miami last week.Sania will next play in Bausch and Lomb Tournament in Amelia Island, USA.



Sania-Ivanovic knocked out of Nasdaq Open
April 17, 2006, 9:57 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

Miami: Sania Mirza and her Serbian partner Ana Ivanovic put up a fight in the first set but were blanked out in the second as they went down 5-7, 0-6 to eighth seeded Japanese-Slovakian pair of Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik in the quaterfinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open here.Sania and Ivanovic tried to face up to their seeded opponents in the first set and they even managed to break them twice but Asagoe and Srebotnik held their own against an onslaught of aces — six in all — by the Indo-Serbian pair to take the set 5-7 after a 41-minute long battle.But the WTA newcomer of the year and her Serbian partner ran out of steam in the second set and failed to win a single point. Asagoe and Srebotnik broke their wild card opponents thrice before storming through the set in 23 minutes.They will now take on the seventh seeded pair of South African Liezel Huber and American Martina Navratilova in the semifinal.The match was the Indian’s last at the tournament after she was knocked out in the first round of the singles competition.Sania, who has dropped to number 41 after finishing the last year at a career high 31st in the WTA rankings, has had an ordinary season so far with no singles title. She has failed to go beyond the third round of a singles competition in any tournment played so far.



Sania in doubles second round
April 17, 2006, 9:54 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza advanced to the second round in the women’s doubles with a straight sets victory at the 3.45-million dollar Nasdaq 100 Open WTA Tour event in Miami, USA.
The 19-year old Indian, pairing with Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, defeated the Italian pair of Maria Elena Camerin and Tathiana Garbin 6-3, 6-4 in the first round on Sunday.
Sania and Ana next play Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic and Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.



Sania to lead India in Fed Cup
April 17, 2006, 9:49 pm
Filed under: Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza will lead India's campaign in the Fed Cup women's team tennis competition to be played in Seoul, Korea, next month.
Shikha Uberoi, Ankita Bhambri and Isha Lakhani are the other members of the team that will be captained by Enrico Piperno, All India Tennis Association said in a release today.
Hosts Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Philippines and Uzbekistan are the other teams in the fray in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 zonal qualification tie.
Sania was included in the team but did not play a match as she recovered from an ankle injury last year when the competition was held in Delhi.