Sania looking forward to getting back

June 14, 2006

India's teenage tennis sensation, Sania Mirza, who begins her Wimbledon warm-up at the DFS Classic in Birmingham today, says she is looking forward to getting back on grass which suits her style of play.

The 19-year-old Hyderabadi, who has captured the imagination of her nation to the extent that a billion people watch her every time she steps on to the court, meets Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine in her warm-up came.

For most players, the transition from clay to grass would mean a headache in the calendar, but for Sania it is a welcome respite.

A first-round defeat by Anastasia Myskina, the Russian former champion, ended her hopes at the French Open.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back on the grass," she told The Times.

"It suits my game," said the player seeded 14th in the DFS Classic.

Sania describes her three-set defeat by Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian finalist in Paris, on Centre Court last year as the high point of her fledgling career.

"It was very emotional because playing on Centre Court is something every tennis player dreams of doing," she said.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw the order of play the night before. I played one of the best matches of my life there. It didn't go my way but it was very, very memorable."