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Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy made a spectacular start to their campaign in the USD 4,500,000 Miami Masters event as they stormed into the doubles pre-quaterfinals after a crushing 6-2 6-2 win over Fernando Gonzalez and Juan Monaco.
The fourth seeded Indo-Czech pair took just 46 minutes to dispatch the Chile pair in the first round in Miami. In the women’s event, Sania Mirza and Chinese Taipei’s Chia-Jung Chuang earned a hard fought 6-4 7-5 win over the Czech combination of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Strycova Zahlavova to advance to the pre-quarterfinals.
Paes-Dlouhy converted all the four breakpoints and saved three on their own serve to ran away with the first set. The second set too belonged to the winners as they converted both the break points that came their way to seal the issue.
Sania and Chuang converted both the breakpoints in the first set and saved two while saving one.
In the second set, seven breaks were traded with the Indo-Taipei pair getting four en route to win. Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles, seeded third, will open their campaign against French pair of Julien Benneteau and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

source :Espnstar
Physio Heath Matthews recounts his experiences with Sania mirzaI have been working with Indian athletes since December 2005. It was at that time that I met Mahesh Bhupathi during a tennis preseason training camp in South Africa.
From there I travelled with Mahesh and Wesley Moodie on the ATP tour for 9 months. It was a great experience and I learnt many things interacting with some of the world’s top physios and trainers. Mahesh is a real hero for Indian sport. Not only has he done his country proud in standing at the top of the world ranking with fellow countrymen Leander Paes, but he has actively sort to improve the standing of Indian tennis with his tennis academy in Bangalore and his involvement with Mittal Champions Trust. I have a huge amount of respect for him.
In November 2006 Mahesh asked me to start working with Sania Mirza. Sania was contracted with Globosport which is Mahesh’s sports management company and thus Mahesh thought that it in Sania’s best interests that I work with her on her fitness.
My first experience of India was in November 2006 when I travelled to Hyderabad to work with Sania for 3 weeks on a preseason training program. I travelled and worked with Sania throughout 2007 until The All England Wimbledon Championships in July of that year.
Our partnership got off to a flying start with Sania winning Silver in the Woman’s Singles and a Gold in the Mixed at the Asian in games in Doha. 2007 was a more challenging year with Sania’s knee injury in early March of that year. It was a trying time for her but she dealt with the surgery very well and was very dedicated to her recovery program. She did so well that she came back and won the doubles title in her first tournament back in Morocco.
Sadly my time came to an end with Sania after Wimbledon. I was offered the opportunity to work for the Mittal Champions Trust as Director of Athletic Performance. At the time I was happy that Sania was in good hands with her coach Gaby from Spain. My career was pulling me in a different direction I needed to follow it deeper into India.

Sania Mirza’s lean patch continued as the Indian ace crashed out of the USD 4,500,000 Sony Ericsson Open after losing a gruelling first round match against world number 65 Mathilde Johansson of France here.
Sania, a wild card entrant, won the first set but could not survive the battle of nerves and lost 6-1 6-7 (2) 6-7 (8) against her rival. Also making a first round exit was India’s teen sensation Yuki Bhambri, who put up a valiant fight against world number 73 Diego Junqueira of Argentina.
The 15-year-old Indian wild card showed a steely resolve as he kept his seasoned opponent in fight for one hour and 22 minutes before losing 4-6 3-6. Sania had failed to move beyond the second round at Indian Wells last week.
The Indian ace, world number 100, will now compete in the doubles event for which she has teamed up with Chinese Taipei’s Chia-Jung Chuang. The pair will take on the Czech combination of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Strycova Zahlavova in the opening round.

Sania Mirza, has been lucky to receive the wildcard. The Indian has dropped 13 places to be ranked 100 and was originally scheduled to compete in the qualifying tournament.
She would open her campaign against World No. 65 Mathilde Johansson of France Thursday. The winner between the two will run into World No. 2 and second seed Dinara Safina of Russia, who got a bye in the first round.
In the doubles, Sania partnering Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei will play Czech pair Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the opening round.

The second of four Premier Mandatory events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s new-look calendar takes place this fortnight, in the form of the $4,500,000 Sony Ericsson Open.Sania mirza will open her campaign against Dinara Safina

An average outing at Indian Wells tournament cost Sania Mirza 13 places in the WTA rankings and the Indian ace now stands yet again on the verge of dropping out of top-100.
With 646 points in her kitty, Sania stands at 100 in the singles and at 87, a loss of 16 positions, in the doubles in the list issued by WTA on Monday.
In the men’s ranking, Somdev Devvarman remained static at 150 in the singles ATP list with 546 points.
In doubles, Leander Paes (6780) and Mahesh Bhupathi (6165) also kept their fifth and eighth position respectively.

Stoic Russian Nadia Petrova remains the top seed, but The MPS Group Championships WTA Tour event in Ponte Vedra Beach may have hooked its two most exciting players this week with the addition of Australian comeback queen Jelena Dokic, and Indian pin-up girl Sania Mirza.The MPS Group Championships takes place April 6- 12 at the Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, following the Sony Ericsson Championships inMiami on the WTA calendar, and prior to the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.
Formerly the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, this is the event’s first year in Ponte Vedra Beach, and officially begins the 2009 claycourt circuit.
“Our player field is growing stronger. It is also shaping up with a great mix of veterans and rising stars which reflects the international flavor of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour,” said John Arrix. tournament director. “The tournament is especially excited to have Jelena Dokic enter who is making a successful comeback on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.”
Dokic’s family struggles have been well documented, and the former No. 4 in the world almost quit tennis last year after failing to find consistent results even at the lowest ITF events. But this January she upset three seeded players at the Australian Open, finally losing in a three-set quarterfinal to No. 1 ranking contender Dinara Safina of Russia.
Mirza’s beauty and standard revealing tennis outfits have made her a target of public criticism in Muslim India, but the 2009 Pattaya City runner-up has soldiered on, returning from a wrist injury that sidelined her for approximately half of last year. This January Mirza also won the Australian Open mixed doubles with Indian mentor and partner Mahesh Bhupathi.
Maria Sharapova is the defending singles champion in Ponte Vedra Beach. Sharapova has announced she will miss Miami with her ongoing shoulder injury, making a PVB appearance a possibility as she attempts an injury comeback.