Indian pioneer Sania Mirza retired from Grand Slam tennis on Friday after losing alongside Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open.
Considered one of her country’s top tennis players,Sania Mirza,who is 36 years old,returned to her park in Melbourne for her final cheer and reached the final.
But she and her 42-year-old Bopanna failed to cross the line as she lost 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 to Brazilian duo Luis Stefani and Rafael Matos.
Mirza broke down in tears at the post-match awards ceremony.She said” these are tears of joy and I am happy that I came a log way”.Talking about her tennis partner Rohan,she said” he was my first mixed doubles partner when I was 14 and we won the national team.
“After 22 years, I couldn’t think of a better person to end my career here and play in the final. He is my best friend and one of my best partners. There is no better place for me or for anyone else to finish a career at a Grand Slam.”
Mirza, who is married to former Pakistani team captain Shoaib Malik, has a young son “Izhaan”. It was incredible to play in front of him in the Grand Final.I never thought I would be able to play in front of my own kids in the final,so it’s really special to have him here and my parents too.
Known for her ardent convention-breakers,Mirza became the first Indian woman to win her WTA singles title in her hometown of Hyderabad in 2005.
She reached the fourth round at the US Open that same year,and in 2007 she was among the top 30 women.
However, her wrist injury forced her to focus on doubles,and she partnered Swiss great Martina Hingis,who produced three Grand Slam titles for her.Sania has planned to retire from tennis because she think her body is not having that capacity to play like fire and also she wanted to take care of her child with full time and attention.
