Reachout's  Newsmaker

Sania Mirza
The First Indian woman to enter the third round of a Grand Slam tennis event
 

Hyderabad, January' 2005: Sania Mirza created history when she became the first Indian woman to enter the third round of a Grand Slam tennis event and set up a dream clash with former World No. 1 Serena Williams at the Australian Open in Melbourne It was a red letter day in Indian tennis as Sania, who entered the draw with a wild card, became the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a grand slam when she beat Petra Mandula of Hungary 6-2 6-1.

The win also gives Sania 66 WTA points and will move her inside the top 130 in the world.

The best performance by an Indian woman on the Grand Slam so far had been a second round appearance, by Nirupama Sanjeev (Vaidyanathan), who achieved the feat in the 1998 edition of the Australian Open.

In fact, this is the first time any Indian had progressed this far in a Grand Slam since Leander Paes made it to the round of 32 at the US Open in 1998.

The 18-year-old Mirza, who won the Wimbledon junior doubles two years ago, played Serena Williams in the next round & lost the match but has won fans all over the world including Serena Williams.

 

Reachout's News Bureau
-January' 2005

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