Dad Imran Mirza hits back at those who felt his daughter's tennis career would suffer after her engagement earlier this month
Dad Imran Mirza hits back at those who felt his daughter's tennis career would suffer after her engagement earlier this month
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When India's first lady of tennis Sania Mirza got engaged earlier this month to childhood friend Mohammed Sohrab Mirza, many felt that the good-looking sportswoman had not only broken quite a few bachelors' hearts but with it she had also put a near-full stop to a promising tennis career.
However, the 22-year-old slammed most pundits of the game when she beat top-seeded Frenchwoman Julie Coin 7-5, 6-4 to win the USD 50,000 ITF Lexington Challenger on Sunday.
The victory, besides taking Sania three places up the WTA rankings to 80th, emphasised the fact that the engagement has been no distraction to her on-court performance.
Her father Imran makes the point very strongly. "Given that Sania has won her very first tournament after her engagement, this should put to rest the theory that she would lose focus after her engagement," Imran told
MiD DAY yesterday.
However, he was also the first to acknowledge the fact that the tournament did not boast of too many big names in the tennis world.
"I will be the first one to say that winning a USD 50,000 tournament is totally different from a Grand Slam. But an international title is a title all the same and should do wonders for Sania's confidence as she is coming back from au00a0 serious career-threatening injury," added Imran.
Before leaving for the US, Sania told reporters back home that she was eagerly awaiting this year's final Grand Slam the US Open (August 31 to September 13) and is keen to do well at Flushing Meadows in New York. In that sense, the Lexington win could be the perfect stepping stone for more glory.
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