Sania Mirza: A series of 'firsts' by the Indian tennis icon
The Hyderabadi tennis star became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam in 2009
Sania Mirza is undoubtedly one of the most popular Indian athletes. Right from her emergence in 2005, Mirza has been the torchbearer of Indian tennis.
She started playing tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2003. On the junior circuit, she won 10 singles and 13 doubles titles including the 2003 Wimbledon Championship Girl's Doubles title along with Alisa Kleybanova. In February 2003, she was handed a wild card to play in her first-ever WTA tournament, at the Hyderabad Open.
In 2005, she was honoured with the WTA Newcomer of the Year and also was named as one of the "50 Heroes of Asia" by Time. And with time she has developed into one of the best doubles players and has won several accolades in doubles and mixed doubles events. In fact, with 42 WTA doubles titles, she has won more WTA doubles titles on the tour than any other active player.
Let us take a look at some of the firsts she achieved for India:
First Indian woman to win a Grand Slam
In 2009, Sania Mirza bagged the Australian Open mixed doubles title partnering Mahesh Bhupathi to become the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam title. The pair was given a wildcard entry into the tournament and had to face sixth seeds Kvetoslava Peschke and Pavel Vizner in the very first round. Yet, they won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. The duo was in scorching form and they did not lose a set on their road to victory. In the finals, they met Andy Ram and Nathalie Dechy and beat them 6-3, 6-1.
First Indian woman to become World No.1 in doubles
Mirza began the 2015 season ranked no.6 in doubles. The same year, she went on to partner Swiss great Martina Hingis. They were the top seeds at Indian Wells and went on to win the title on their maiden appearance. They also won the Miami Masters event, which saw Mirza rise to no.3 in world rankings.
Mirza and Hingis were unstoppable and they bagged their third successive title in the Family Circle Cup's doubles event. They were on a 14-match winning streak and following the win in Charleston, United States Mirza claimed the No 1 spot.
"No tournament has been as special to me as the Family Circle Cup and no tournament will ever be as special to me, because I became No. 1 here," she stated after her win.
They went on to win the Wimbledon Championships after a tough final against Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. One must note, that they had not lost a single set en route to the final. It was Sania's first Grand Slam title in women's doubles.
First Indian woman to win a WTA Singles event
In 2005, Mirza created history in her hometown by winning the 2005 Hyderbad Open, as she became the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. She was a wildcard entrant into the tournament and in the second round she had to go up against fourth-seed Zheng Jie of China, who was ranked 61 at that time. However, she won a grueling three-set battle to progress to the quarter-finals.
She brushed aside Tzipora Obziler's challenge in the last eight to set up a clash with eighth seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia. She thwarted the Russian challenge with ease by winning the match 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). In the finals, she went up against Alona Bondarenko and defeated her 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
First Indian woman to break into top 30 singles ranking
At the 2006 Australian Open, she became the first Indian woman to be seeded at a major. In the same year, she picked up three top-ten wins against Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis.
Mirza continued her rich vein of form in 2007, as she reached the second round of the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. She soared on the US hard courts, finished eighth in the 2007 US Open Series standings that catapulted her to career high of world no.27 in August 2007.
First Indian woman to reach the fourth round in a Grand Slam
At the 2005 US Open Sania Mirza was in the form of her life. As an unseeded player, she had to face a tough draw from the very first round. But she cruised her way to the second round after beating local favourite Mashona Washington. In the third round, she defeated French player Marion Bartoli, who later went on to win Wimbledon in 2013, 7-6, 6-4. But Maria Sharapova proved too good for her in the Round of 16 and she lost 6-2, 6-1.