On 'Time'

Indian teen wonder Sania Mirza's
dream run up the Women's Tennis
Association rankings has propelled her
to the cover of Time magazine, which
included her on the list of Asian
Heroes 2005.

The 18-year-old from Hyderabad,
currently ranked 37 in the world, is
the 1st Indian sportswoman and 2nd
Indian sportsperson after cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar to adorn Time's
cover.

In the list of Asian heroes 2005,
Mirza shares the space with
Chinese actress Zhang Jingchu,
South Korean footballer Park Ji Sung and Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.

The tennis star, who is described by the magazine as a role model for women
in India and the fastest rising star in the sport this year, features on the cover
of the special issue of the magazine which hit the stands on Monday. Sania
made history in Indian tennis by becoming the first ever Indian to break into
the top-50 WTA Tour rankings. She also became the first Indian woman to
win a WTA tourney, when she lifted the Hyderabad Open in February 2005.
The 2003 Wimbledon junior doubles champion also beat several top-10
players and became the first Indian to reach the third round of Australian
Open and the pre-quarter-finals of the US Open.

Lost in Semi

Sania Mirza's form that helped her vanquish higher-
ranked opponents deserted her and flashes of
brilliance were not enough to salvage the match as
she lost the semis 2-6, 4-6 to third seed Tatiana
Golovin of France in $1,70,000 AIG Japan Open in
Tokyo on Saturday. An off-color Sania, who scalped
top seed Vera Zovonerava in three sets, ran out of
steam in the first set as the Frenchwoman whizzed
through the first set in the tier III WTA tournament.

Now In Semis!

The sensational Sania Mirza upset
top seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia
in a thrilling three-setter to storm
into the semi-finals of the USD
170,000 AIG Japan Open Tennis
Championship here today.

Seeded eight in this Tier III event,
Sania fought her way back after
conceding the first set to carve out
a 5-7 6-2 6-4 win against the 22-
ranked Russian in 2 hours 28
minutes.

The win fetched the Indian, placed
37th on the WTA rankings, a semi-
final date with third seed Tatiana
Golovin of France who won 3-6 6-2 6-2 against local favourite and fifth seed
Ai Sugiyama in the quarter-finals.

In Quarter Final

Sania Mirza thrashed
local hope Aiko
Nakamura 6-1, 6-4 to
advance to the quarter
-finals of the Japan
Open Tennis
Championships, in
Tokyo, on Thursday.

The 18-year-old eighth
seed will next take on
top seed Russian Vera
Zvonareva for a place
in the semi-finals. Zvonareva advanced to the last eight beating Israel's Shahar
Peer 6-3, 7-5.

Sania's second round match was postponed due to heavy rain on Wednesday.
In her first round match, on Tuesday, she registered a crushing 6-1, 6-3
victory over Puerto Rico's Vilmarie Castellvi.

TIME's 2005 Hero!

In another ace for teenage tennis icon,
Sania Mirza, she became the first
Indian sportswoman to feature on the
cover of Time magazine and is being
included in its 2005 list of Asia's heroes.

In the list of heroes, Sania shares the
space with Chinese actress Zhang
Jingchu, South Korean footballer Park
Ji Sung and Japan's Ken Watanbe.

The tennis star, who has been
described by the magazine as a role
model for women in the country and
the fastest rising star in the sport this
year, features on the cover of the
special issue of the magazine which will hit the stands tomorrow.

Though the list is led by people who saved lives and rebuild families and
communities after last year's devastating tsunami, it also includes
inspirational figures in the field of arts and sports.