Stop the slide Sania

I do not know what to make of Sania Mirza’s ‘stay-positive-all-the-time attitude’; whether she is winning, losing, or slipping down the ranking ladder.

It has become almost a habit for the Hyderabad queen to be laid low early in the season when players should be fit a fiddle. The end result, Sania misses vital tournaments after the Australian Open and is under-prepared and rusty for the challenges which clay pose for her.

Yet, even after her first round loss to an unknown player in a Tier 4 WTA event this week, Sania has not sounded despondent. To be sure, I am actually surprised she has started talking to Indian wire services even after a first-round loss.

For long, Sania has kept the media at a safe distance. She sees journos as a major irritant, and I guess I also fall in that category? There is this famous story about Mohd Azharuddin in his heydays, when he ignored the media at home. And when bad times came, the knives were out for Azhar.

I am not wishing Sania ill-luck, but I am just happy she has become mature, and is now speaking to the wires. They are the ones who carry news to the world.

But this is just one part of the story. Talking about her attitude, it is good to have a swagger, or almost be arrogant when playing. But there does come a time, when one has to temper oneself, a stage which every superstar goes through.

I know this is a season when it is not our own Sania who is struggling but also Roger Federer. Well, the similarities end there, and I am sure FedEx will devise a way to get out of the rut.

As for Sania, I am still waiting for that day when she gets more consistent in her game, because even the men with the biggest and boldest groundstrokes have not won points on clay without working for it.

This clay season is as good as over now for Sania, and an early exit at the French Open will mean, changing shoes and apparel quickly for the grass season. I think the rust will be out of her game by then and she will play with less inhibition.

But what has happened to her personal coach? I have not heard of a single name in all these months, and I do hope she will look into it. A coach does not just organise practice sessions and travel, he/she does a lot more than that to shape a player’s career.

Sania certainly cannot stay without a coach for long. The comeback trail is going to be very, very tough in 2007.