Hyderabad: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza on Monday expressed happiness after claiming her maiden Australian Open women’s double title, saying that it is a `dream` start to her season.
Earlier, the top-seeded Indo -Swiss pair of Mirza and Martina Hingis continued their rampage form as they claimed a 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 win over Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in a thrilling contest that lasted one hour and 49 minutes at Melbourne Park.
The 29-year-old admitted that although it was impossible to play perfect all the time, she would try to continue her winning run as long as possible.
“I don’t think I have begun any year on such a perfect note professionally, in terms of we have not lost a match and everything that went on with it.
For me it is a dream start to the year. All I can say is that I hope it continues. I know it is humanly impossible to keep it as perfect as this, but we will try to keep it as long as we can,” Mirza told the media here.
Talking about the performance, Mirza believes she and Hingis embraced the pressure pretty well.
“May be it was just an x-factor that brought us together and that keep us together and I think under pressure our biggest strength is we both come out playing good. In this situation, I think we both come out, we love the pressure we embrace it and we come out playing really well and that’s something we both bring to the team. That’s why, we have come through a lot of close matches even when we are not playing our best,” Mirza said.
Mirza, who is looking forward to pair up again with Hingis in French Open, said that she hopes to clinch one more title before the season ends.
“It would be amazing to win French Open for many reasons. Obviously, one it would be great to win another slam, four in a row. Having said that, French Open is the toughest slam for us to win because it is not our best surface. It’s still a long way off. Hopefully, we can win one more slam before season ends,” she said.
Mirza, who is also nominated for this year’s Padma Shri award, said that she felt special that her efforts were being recognised, adding that it was privileged to receive this award.
“I think the recognition you get from the people, from the government and the people who are giving you this award is very special because they are recognizing the efforts that you have put in and your family has put in for years and years. Whether it is Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award or Padma Shri. I feel very honoured to receive these awards. It is one of the biggest honours as an Indian citizen you can receive,” she added.
With the triumph, Mirza and Hingis have also extended their winning streak to 36 and will aim for a clean sweep at the French Open in June. (ANI)