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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMENFebruary 21, 2012Sania MirzaDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES MIRZA‑VESNINA/Al Nabhani‑Klepac THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Pretty happy with the way things have gone today? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, I mean, we played well. Obviously it's tricky. It's really tricky conditions. You know, it's really windy out there and it's not easy. Especially when you go out there second seed, I mean, so the pressure is on us. Yeah, it's always good to come out with the first win. And, you know, with no‑ad scoring and supertiebreak, anything can happen, so we're happy that we could finish in two sets. Q. Considering that you're been most successful in the doubles, what is it? Is it that you don't want to pay attention to the singles, or is it that you're just enjoying the doubles more? SANIA MIRZA: Um, no. I mean, right now I think ‑‑ couple weeks ago I did give out a press statement. Because this is the Olympic year, and the priority is to try to get into the Olympics. Unfortunately, I had a surgery right after US Open, you know, because of which four months I missed tournaments. So it was tough, and I was losing a lot of points in my singles. So I think I have to be a little bit realistic. To me, the primary going is trying to play the Olympics. So I think we have a really good shot at a medal for mixed doubles. The resume is try tiebreak top 10 in doubles or singles. So I think that right now my body is not in a condition to really handle singles and doubles week in and week. Because it's an Olympic year, I think I want to focus more on doubles this year, at less until the Olympics. Obviously after that I can come back and focus back on my singles again. Q. Who will be your partner for the doubles? SANIA MIRZA: I have no ideas. Q. And the mixed will be Mahesh? SANIA MIRZA: No, I don't make that call, unfortunately. The Association makes the call. We know as much as you guys do, to be very honest. I mean, yeah, me and Mahesh, we made semis of Melbourne so we are playing good. Having said that, I've done well with Leander and Rohan both. So I think I am in a great position obviously to choose from three people who are so good. But at the end of the day, the best info will be put in and the Association will make that call. Q. You had a good run few years back in singles when you beat Kuznetsova. Would you have preferred the same sort of atmosphere coming back into the main draw? SANIA MIRZA: Yeah, definitely every tournament you play you want to play the main draw. Obviously like I always say every year, for me now this is really home away from home because I live here as well and this is my base since I got married. It's actually kind of nice to have a tournament at home, so to say. But I don't know whatever reason it was, you know, I couldn't get a wildcard. So, yeah, it's unfortunate, but that's the way it is. Q. It is also means that it's getting tougher. SANIA MIRZA: What is? Q. In the singles. SANIA MIRZA: Well, I mean, a wildcard is a wildcard. Q. But if you have to play through the quallies, obviously it's a lot tougher. SANIA MIRZA: No. 30 in the world was the top seed in the quallies, so this is not really a normal qualifying event. It's almost like playing another WTA, mini‑WTA before coming into the event, because everyone ‑‑ the cutoff was ridiculous. In these two tournaments, Doha‑Dubai, are two of the toughest weeks of the year. So even to qualify you're playing players who are top 100 in the world, so it's obviously not easy. Q. And the 33rd player I believe lost in the third round of qualifying, Jie Zheng? SANIA MIRZA: Yes. Q. So that sort of backs up your point. SANIA MIRZA: That backs up my point saying that there's the depth in women's tennis today. You know, people always complain women's tennis doesn't have a rivalry. There is no rivalry like this men's tennis. I think that's the beauty of women's tennis. A person who is not ranked or is ranked 500, 600 in the world comes and beats a girl who is 33. That just goes to show that in women's tennis today everyone can hit the ball and everyone can play tennis. It's not like before you can go on court and take it for granted. You have to your A‑game on all the time, otherwise you lose. I think that's basically what happened not just there. I mean, today Radwanska almost lost as well. The fact is people talk about upsets and stuff, but women's tennis is so‑‑ the depth is so much today that we have, you know, five new Grand Slam champions in the last five Grand Slams. That says a lot about women's tennis. I think obviously it's at its healthiest best today and at its toughest, because physically and even mentally it's getting stronger every day. Q. Radwanska almost lost as well to the person who beat you in qualifying. What's your reflections upon your performance? SANIA MIRZA: Well, Alex, I know her for a long time. She was 21 or 20 in the world. Q. 21. SANIA MIRZA: So, yeah, we both kind of ‑‑ she was struggling with injury as well and we're both coming back from injury. When you play people like that, or even for her playing me, it was not like she could come and say, Okay, I'm playing a wildcard in the quallies so I can just take it easy. It was a match that we both knew was going to be tough. Obviously her playing‑‑ she qualified through it and then beat Hercog who is 36 in the world, and then she played against someone who is top 10 in the world and almost beat her. Obviously she's hitting a good ball and playing well. Maybe I was a bit unfortunate to play her first up. There were some people who were slightly not in the best form in that draw as well. But that's the way it goes. We play 30 weeks a year, so we move onto the next week. You try to get better and try to win more matches. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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