Mirza bounces back on tennis return

BIRMINGHAM: India’s Sania Mirza made a winning return to action after her wedding to Shoaib Malik as she defeated Chan Yung-Jan 6-1, 6-4 in the first round.

Mirza had taken several months off from tennis to focus on her personal life before controversially marrying Malik in April. The tense nature of relations between India and Pakistan meant political groups in her homeland protested against the 23-year-old’s decision to marry Malik.

Mirza’s picture was burnt on the streets of Bhopal, where activists from the right-wing Hindu nationalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad party vowed to stop her from competing in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October.

But, with the storm of controversy dying down, Mirza has been able to return to tennis and she quickly rediscovered her rhythm on the Birmingham grass-courts as she swatted aside Chan, a 20-year-old from Taipei.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2008, cruised through as the 14th seed won 6-2, 6-2 against Lilia Osterloh of the US.

Britain’s Laura Robson, who last week had to offer an abject apology for an interview she had given where she labelled some of her fellow players as ‘sluts’, advanced to the second round when her Swiss opponent Stefanie Voegele retired in the second game of the second set. Robson, a junior Wimbledon champion in 2008, had taken the first set 6-4.

Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1999, gave a glimpse of talent that seemed to have been lost for good as she beat Mariana Duque Marino 6-1, 6-2.

Lucic walked away from tennis in 2003 after falling out with her father and the 28-year-old, who had been ranked as high as 32nd in the world, is only now beginning to rebuild her career.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 8th, 2010.