With a staggering record of 10 doubles titles in a year, tennis star Sania Mirza believes that she and her partner, Swiss veteran Martina Hingis complement each other very well which has resulted in the duo clinching their ninth title in 2015.
The unstoppable Mirza-Hingis pair came up with another stupendous performance on Sunday to win the women's doubles title at the prestigious $7 million WTA Finals in Singapore.
This is the top ranked pair's ninth title together this season, having also won in Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, US Open (New York), Wimbledon (London), Charleston, Miami and Indian Wells.
Sania also won at the Sydney International in January with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
"It was a dream run for me. Never thought I would win 10 titles in a year but I was confident on my ability to perform on each game and it paid off. Credit also goes to Martina the way she played and partnered me in the doubles. We complement each other very well in all aspects," Sania, who was named brand ambassador of pain reliever brand, Volini, told IANS in an interview here.
When asked about the most memorable victory this season, the 28-year-old named the title triumph at Wimbledon as the best, as it was the only Grand Slam title missing from her kit.
"The Wimbledon victory was the most memorable one for sure, as I never had won at Wimbledon earlier. It was privilege to be a part of every match there. After being down we came back stronger and won it, it shows how well we are playing," the tennis player, who is married to Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik, said.
Speaking on his on-field chemistry with the 35-year-old Swiss veteran, Sania couldn't keep herself from heaping praise on her doubles partner.
"Martina is a great champion. She is such a nice human being. We get along with each other very well. She at this age has proved yet again what a player she has been over the years and still now. I love playing with her and hope to continue winning more titles along with her," she said.
The current doubles World No. 1 believes that it was really tough to reach the summit considering the current competition in the sport.
"It is tough to be a World No.1 than to remain in that spot for quite some time. Being No. 1 is not easy. I had to work hard wait for this time to be at the top, so it shows how tough it is to reach at the top and I am thrilled to have attained that spot," she said.
With the Indian men's squad failing to qualify for the Davis Cup World Group due to a lack of talent in the singles category, the Padma Shri and Arjuna Award winner is hopeful that Yuki Bhambri, who has broken into the top 100 will come out as a better singles player in the future.
Currently India have only Yuki (89) in the top 100 of the men's singles rankings with next best player Somdev Devvarman (180) ranked close to 200.
"We have done well in the doubles but we haven't done that well in the singles. I think all the management, players and all have to step in to decide what's going wrong and find a solution for that. I think after me no one has done well in the singles be it in women's and men's. But I am happy that Yuki is doing well and have entered the top 100 and I hope others also do the same thing and take the country forward," she said.
"You need to back players that you have in your kit as long as there are no new good bunch coming. We have to make sure they get enough time to spend on the court and give as much time to themselves. I am hopeful we will improve in the singles in days to come," Sania concluded.
(Aritra Chowdhury can be contacted at aritra.c@ians.in)
