Back home after clinching her first-ever women's doubles Grand Slam title, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza said winning Wimbledon with Swiss partner Martina Hingis was a very special feeling.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, she said it was a dream come true as she as a child always wanted to play in Wimbledon. "I'm so happy, these are the moments we live for," said an elated Sania at her residence.
The Hyderabadi dedicated the victory to India and her supporters. "Prime minister, President and everyone that I can think of has wished me. The amount of wishes that poured in from people....the pride the common people feel in it is amazing. I feel honoured to be from a country where people takes it so passionately when they love or hate stars," she said.
The world number one believes she is fortunate enough to win four Grand Slams and hopes to add more big titles to her kitty.
"It was a great joy and privilege to be playing over there and performing. This was the biggest stage of tennis for us," she said on the victory in Saturday's final.
Sania along with Hingis beat Russian pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elene Vesnina 5-7, 7-6, 7-5 to clinch her first doubles major title.
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"In the third set we were down but we kept smiling because we were actually enjoying it so much," she said.
Sania said the warm welcome accorded to her at Hyderabad airport at 3 a.m. made her nostalgic. "It was a similar welcome 12 years ago when I returned after winning Wimbledon junior title."
She recalled that at the beginning of the new year, she had set the goal of becoming world number one and winning a Grand Slam. "By the grace of God, I achieved both in the first six months," she said.
Sania said she always set short-term goals and hopes to win another US open. She was pleased to have a partner like Hingis, saying they have a perfect chemistry both on and off the court. "My partnership with Martina has been very compatible. Everytime we enter a Slam - me and Martina enter it to win it."
She admitted that as the top-seeded pair, there will always be pressure as anything short of a win is considered failure. "As the world number one and top seed you are hunted but it's a privilege to be hunted," she added.
The star believes India still has some way to go before becoming a tennis-friendly nation. "We are cricketing nation. Tennis may be weak second. We lack a system. I think we need that," said Sania.