It's been six days since a fit-again Sania Mirza returned to the court and the enthusiasm is already visible in the way she is putting in long hours at practice with the sole aim of hitting top gear in the next season. A knee injury sustained during the US Open kept Sania out of action for a while but the Indian ace has recovered and joined the Fed Cup camp underway here at the RK Khanna Tennis Complex.
Next season will have the London Olympics along with the regular tour events, but Sania doesn't want to think too far ahead although improving her rankings is certainly on her mind. "After the surgery, I am obviously happy to be back on court. It's been a few days since I started training and I am already able to work out for 20-25 minutes at a stretch without losing my breath," said a relaxed Sania after the day's practice on Tuesday.
"I have undergone rehabilitation but one needs to understand that there's a lot more to it. We have to work out, practise, play matches and so on." Sania has a number of tournaments lined up in near future, starting with Auckland and Hobart before she gets ready for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.
Staying away from tennis courts has resulted in her singles rankings dropping to 87. She will have to come up with some good performances to avoid qualifiers for the important tournaments, including Grand Slams. While there is a lot of focus on the Olympics, Sania doesn't want to put too much pressure on herself thinking about the event."I want to be as fit as I can for the Olympics. But there are other tournaments as well before it, in fact, there would be three Grand Slams before the Olympics.
"So, we have to peak 10 times before the Olympics. At this moment, I don't want to think just about Olympics because pressure is something that I just don't want to take," she said. On Tuesday, Sania was seen enjoying her training with other Fed Cup probables in company of coach Enrico Piperno. "We generally don't get a chance to be together and it's nice to have a camp here so that we get chance to gel and know each other better."
Her experience will certainly be of great help to her juniors and Sania did make a few suggestions. Amongst the other girls in the camp are recently-crowned national champion Rutuja Bhosale, Sharmada Balu and Kyra Shroff. "I see them practising for long hours. So, I tell them that they don't need to train for eight hours a day and sometimes less is better. If they put in so much pressure on their bodies at this age, they'll make it difficult for themselves when they reach my age," pointed the 25-year-old.
Despite a spate of injuries, Sania is not ready to compromise on her singles career and insists that if she has to cut down on events, it will be in doubles. The season gone by saw Sania playing a lot and she said she was on court for more than 150 days during a 12-month period. "It's difficult to say whether I'll be selective with my tournaments or not unless there's an injury. May be, if I have to cut down on events, it will be in doubles because for any professional, it's about playing tournaments and not missing them."
