Sania Mirza might be a renowned name in women’s tennis but it’s cricket that sets her pulse racing. Therefore it comes as no surprise when she exults at India’s historic win over Australia and finds Sachin Tendulkar’s milestone of becoming the leading Test scorer inspiring.

Somdev Devavarman on Sunday became India’s number one singles player after achieving a career best ranking of 201, eclipsing Prakash Amritraj, who follows him next at 214.

Somdev’s giant-killing spree at the Nashville Challenger, where he beat a couple of top-100 players, helped him leapfrog 40 places to get past Prakash.

In India, cricket reigns supreme and hogs the limelight because of media hype and hoopla coupled with the frenzy and craze on the part of would-be cricketers and the aficionados of the once regarded gentleman’s game.
Even football which produced great players like Balaram, Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee or Jarnail Singh, is now relegated to the background; Gostha Pal or Sailen Manna are just legends. During those halcyon days, football had a galaxy of legendary players but money played no role. In the absence of the electronic media, these players failed to create much flutter in the minds of teenagers.
Dhyanchand, the wizard of hockey, did not get what he deserved, though hockey made us proud during those golden days. Abhinav Bindra, PT Usha or Milkha Singh and even Leander Paes and their ilk have just made their presence felt. Sania Mirza has become an idol because of her glamour and dress. Media too has played its part in shoring up her image.

So far, injuries have spoiled major parts of Sania Mirza’s career. Injuries have caused major ups and downs for her. But, amidst all this, she is confident of going from strength to strength. This year has been year of injuries and recuperation for India’s top-ranked tennis player. First, it was a knee injury that put Sania out of the 2008 WTA Tour for eight weeks.

Women’s world No. 41 tennis player, Nicole Vaidisova, is enjoying her break from the game in the off-season before she gets back to action in the new season starting next January.