Hats off, Sania

Sania Mirza has become the darling of India after her superb display at U.S. Open. She had made the world notice her, not just for bright coloured T-shirts and ear studs but for her game.

A friend of mine innocently asked, "Hey, she has just gone into the fourth round, is it that big?"

I was really a bit astonished when he asked it.

Remember she hails from India, where the government, corporate and people believe Sports means Cricket and vice-versa. No one cared about her till she won the Wimbledon junior title despite of her good performance in ITF circuit before that itself. At least they are following from the start of this year, lets be happy about it.

No Indian women has ever won a second round in a Grand slam till Sania did it in Australian open earlier this year and now has bettered the record now. She is not a bolt out of the blue, her progress has been steady since she turned pro.

The press has been giving her a lot of limelight (She deserves it), but scrutinizing her choice of clothing, behavior, etc is quite bad. We have got a superb talent slowly flowering as a genius, let's back her up. The coolest part is Sania doesn't seem to allow these to get into her head while she is on the court. This gives us the hope and belief that she will climb up the ladder in rankings.

Hats off, Sania for what you have done.