Nirupama, a former national, Asian champion, says even Tony Roche needed time for Federer
MUMBAI: So, the super sensational Sania Mirza bowed out of the Wimbledon for yet another loss in the second round for what has been a disappointing year so far.
She wasn’t expected also to win every single time she takes to the court, especially coming from a long injury layoff. But a 6-2 6-2 scoreline against an opponent (Nadia Petrova) whom she had taken out the last time around two years back only highlighted the divide between her and the top 10 or 15 players.
With Mirza showing no signs of discomfort of her knee injury, the scoreline was surprising, feels Nirupama Sanjeev nee Vaidyanathan.
“The competition at that level and, especially on grass, is always difficult and more so because she is recovering from an injury.
“She needs just 5-6 months to get back in the grove after a long layoff like the one she has had. But I was surprised by the way she lost; the scoreline was disappointing,” says the former Asian and National champion.
The first Indian to score a first round win at a Grand Slam (1998 Australian Open), Nirupama has been following Sania’s career closely even though she is based in California and does commentary occasionally besides coaching youngsters. “It’s not that she is lax or anything wrong with her game. But this is going to be a very tough year. She has had an injury when she is fighting to defend points and preserve her ranking with all sorts of pressure from the world.”
Being a coach herself, she is unequivocal that changing too many coaches is certainly a wrong approach. John Farrington, S Narendranath to Gabriel Urpi besides different travelling or hitting partners (Mustafa Ghouse is currently with her at Wimbledon) — Sania has changed coaches at will ever since she reached the third round at the 2005 Australian Open in her debut year.
“It does not help. It just takes three months to know the player even if you have been on the circuit and know the player’s game. Perhaps, she (Sania) is looking at just three-day results where a year is perhaps just enough for a coach to produce results. Even Tony Roche (Federer’s coach) needed time,” feels Nirupama. “She has a future but she should think long term,” she adds.
In fact, the former champ feels a coach’s role is more important in the off-season or between tournaments. “At that level, it is not about any weakness, as such. There are many aspects; her rhythm, how she can improve her serve further and so on. These things can be corrected only after the tournament.”
For the record, Sania admitted that her serve is still not a weapon and was lacking on that count in her loss to Petrova. With the US Open left on the Grand Slam schedule, any talk is not complete without discussing if Sania’s game is suited only to a particular surface considering her best effort at a Grand Slam has been a fourth round at the Flushing Meadows. “That’s a huge question. The US Open will be a real test for her since the hard court takes a toll on your body.,” says Vaidyanathan.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1107032
MUMBAI: So, the super sensational Sania Mirza bowed out of the Wimbledon for yet another loss in the second round for what has been a disappointing year so far.
She wasn’t expected also to win every single time she takes to the court, especially coming from a long injury layoff. But a 6-2 6-2 scoreline against an opponent (Nadia Petrova) whom she had taken out the last time around two years back only highlighted the divide between her and the top 10 or 15 players.
With Mirza showing no signs of discomfort of her knee injury, the scoreline was surprising, feels Nirupama Sanjeev nee Vaidyanathan.
“The competition at that level and, especially on grass, is always difficult and more so because she is recovering from an injury.
“She needs just 5-6 months to get back in the grove after a long layoff like the one she has had. But I was surprised by the way she lost; the scoreline was disappointing,” says the former Asian and National champion.
The first Indian to score a first round win at a Grand Slam (1998 Australian Open), Nirupama has been following Sania’s career closely even though she is based in California and does commentary occasionally besides coaching youngsters. “It’s not that she is lax or anything wrong with her game. But this is going to be a very tough year. She has had an injury when she is fighting to defend points and preserve her ranking with all sorts of pressure from the world.”
Being a coach herself, she is unequivocal that changing too many coaches is certainly a wrong approach. John Farrington, S Narendranath to Gabriel Urpi besides different travelling or hitting partners (Mustafa Ghouse is currently with her at Wimbledon) — Sania has changed coaches at will ever since she reached the third round at the 2005 Australian Open in her debut year.
“It does not help. It just takes three months to know the player even if you have been on the circuit and know the player’s game. Perhaps, she (Sania) is looking at just three-day results where a year is perhaps just enough for a coach to produce results. Even Tony Roche (Federer’s coach) needed time,” feels Nirupama. “She has a future but she should think long term,” she adds.
In fact, the former champ feels a coach’s role is more important in the off-season or between tournaments. “At that level, it is not about any weakness, as such. There are many aspects; her rhythm, how she can improve her serve further and so on. These things can be corrected only after the tournament.”
For the record, Sania admitted that her serve is still not a weapon and was lacking on that count in her loss to Petrova. With the US Open left on the Grand Slam schedule, any talk is not complete without discussing if Sania’s game is suited only to a particular surface considering her best effort at a Grand Slam has been a fourth round at the Flushing Meadows. “That’s a huge question. The US Open will be a real test for her since the hard court takes a toll on your body.,” says Vaidyanathan.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1107032