Advantage Sania!!

For a while in the beginning of their first round match, Sania Mirza seemed to be playing at her very best – swinging her forehand with carefree abandon and snapping her wrist for powerful winners - while her opponent, the seven-times Grand Slam champion Justine Henin was scrambling furiously around the baseline and struggling to handle the pace of Mirza’s shots. The 24 year old Indian broke Henin on her first two service games to go up 3-1 in the first set and even had two chances on her own serve to go up 4-1 - losing the second of those chances when a winning backhand she hit was called out but was actually shown to be in when Sania challenged the call - she lost the point when it was replayed and then the game. Slowly but surely, Henin used her exemplary skills to get back into the set breaking Mirza at 4-4 thanks to two double faults from her opponent. Sania is not known to be the best player under pressure but it was she who staved off a set point on Henin’s serve at 4-5, 30-40 to break back for 5-5. Sania then went on to hold serve and broke Henin again to win the first set 7-5, in 60 minutes, much to the delight of the small Indian contingent on the showcourt Hisense Arena but to the surprise of most others there.

Henin started the second set strong, breaking for an early 2-0 lead. But Sania did not wilt. She broke back for 2-2, playing tennis far more superior than her #145 ranking might suggest. In her next service game, she built a 30-0 lead but another double fault and three unforced errors quickly gave the break back to Henin, who then held for 4-2. With Henin serving at 4-3, the two engaged in a pivotal game. Multiple break points for Sania. Henin saved them all. Multiple game points for Henin. Sania saved them all. Watching it, you could almost sense that the match would hinge on the outcome of this pivotal game. Henin finally managed to hold on for 5-3 and then broke the Indian again to win the second set 6-3 in 44 minutes.

The Belgian also started the third set strongly, racing to a 3-0 lead. Sania managed to stem the rot and hold to get on the scoreboard but was unable to put much of a fight thereafter as Henin won the next three games to complete a hard fought 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 victory in 2 hours 12 minutes.

There’s plenty of positives for Sania to take away from this match. For two sets, she managed to stay toe-to-toe with Henin, trading groundstrokes with one of the most versatile and powerful players on tour. More importantly, she was able to go head to head with Henin on several backhand to backhand rallies as well. In her post match interview, Henin had this to say about her opponent, “Well, I was ready it could be a tough match because she's not a qualifier like maybe the others, as she has been in this type of situation. She has been in the top 30, I think. She can play a very solid tennis. So the beginning wasn't that easy for me. She was playing high rhythm, not a lot of mistakes at the beginning, and it was tough for me because I was running a lot. To get into the match, that wasn't the perfect situation for me to come into the tournament.” Surely, a good sign for Sania’s game and confidence,. If only she improved her serve, 9 double faults in total in this match, Sania would be winning many more matches. Having won three matches to qualify, she probably got the toughest draw possible against Henin, one of the leading contenders for the title here in Melbourne, in spite of not having played on the tour since an elbow injury at Wimbledon last June. Sania has now won 10 of her last 12 matches on tour in the last 45 days, including 5 matches in 2011 - 2 in qualifying at the WTA event in Auckland and the three in qualifying here. Last year, thanks to a wrist injury, a controversial wedding to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, and months of inaction, she had to wait until July for her fifth win on tour. And with only 2 points to defend from now until June, the Indian should be back in the top 100 soon provided she is able to remain healthy. Her efforts in Melbourne this week will fetch her 65 ranking points – good enough to take her back to around #130 from her current ranking of #145. After completing doubles duty in Melbourne, where will play in the mixed and is also paired with Renata Voracova in the women’s doubles, Sania will move to the WTA stops in Pattaya and Dubai as she continues her quest to get back into sport’s higher ranks. Both cities have been happy hunting grounds for her in the past and with a strong Indian expat crowd to cheer her on in both venues, Sania will be hoping to gain enough points to ensure she gains direct entry into the next two Slams of the year and silence some of her critics who wrote her off following her injuries and marriage last year. Justine Henin moves into the second round but it’s certainly advantage Sania for now.