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    Sania Mirza becomes first Indian WTA champion; wins season ending WTA finale in Singapore

    Synopsis

    Newly crowned WTA champion Sania talks on her fabulous partnership with Cara Black which translates to a good off court friendship and her goals in 2015.

    ET Bureau
    She is the first Indian to win the year-end world championships. While Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi tripped at the final hurdle, Sania Mirza, partnering Zimbabwean Cara Black, has gone the distance and has ended the year as World Champion in women's doubles. Having won the US Open Mixed Doubles crown, the Asian Gold partnering Saketh Myneni and the WTA year-end championships, Sania, who has finished at a career high No. 2 as a doubles pairing and No. 6 as an individual doubles player, has had a dream 2014. She spoke to Boria Majumdar about the year gone by, why she is not playing with Cara Black next year and how winning gold for India "compensates for everything":

    You are the first Indian to win the World Championships.

    It was my first WTA championships and I was confident of doing well. As I said, we were playing some good tennis and on our day are capable of beating any team in the world. Thanks for telling me I am the first, but the point is as a player you don't think like that. You compete to win and play well for your fans. You try and keep yourself injury-free and achieve excellence. Push the bar higher every time you step on court. That's what I have tried to do all the year round.

    You will be finishing the year as No. 2 in the team rankings and No. 6 in the individual rankings. Cara will be finishing a couple of notches higher at No. 4. If you hadn't missed the Wuhan tournament because of the Asian Games, you could have finished higher. Any regrets?

    Absolutely not. It was a conscious decision. I am glad I did what I did. I played for the country in the Asian Games and to win the gold with Saketh (Myneni for the Mixed Doubles) will forever remain a memorable moment in my career. It was my 13th medal for India and as a professional tennis player representing your country is a very special feeling. Yes, my ranking suffered. But winning the gold medal for India has compensated for everything.

    It has been an incredibly successful pairing. Why are you not playing with Cara in 2015?

    There's absolutely no bad blood between us. If there is any speculation, let me put that to rest rightaway. At the end of the US Open, Cara mentioned that she might not play the full year in 2015 for family reasons and so we decided to part. But make no mistake. She has been a great partner and remains a great friend. I respect her family commitments and hence the decision.

    You have now raised your game in doubles to a level where you can justly go down in history as one of the best. Ever imagined this was possible?

    You embarrass me. No I didn't. You don't think in terms of legacy, history et al when you play. All you know is you need to do your absolute best and win as many tour titles as possible. You want to win Grand Slams, gold medals in multidiscipline games for your country and ultimately feel satisfied as a performer. That's what I have tried to do. And yes, the success that I have achieved on the way is extremely pleasing.

    A word on 2015. You are playing with Hsieh Su-wei next year. She has a lot of pedigree in doubles and it is expected to be a good pairing.

    She was ranked No. 1 in the world till three months back and is a solid player. I am no doubt excited by the opportunity of continuing to do well in doubles. It is important we start well and evolve the partnership as the year progresses. And maybe win more Grand Slams!

    The Economic Times

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