Sania On A High As She Ends Year At No.1

"I would love to win a Grand Slam next year," said Sania Mirza who ended 2016 in style as the world No. 1 in women's doubles. The Indian tennis ace has three Grand Slam titles each in women's and mixed doubles categories and is now eyeing a Career Slam next year.

.@MirzaSania secures #WTA Year-End Doubles World No.1 presented by #DubaiDutyFree! pic.twitter.com/rCCtVtAIFB

— wta (@WTA) October 30, 2016

Considering Sania's great performance in 2016, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the tennis ace wins numerous feats again next year. "It was unbelievable year for me, to finish at number one again, to win 8 tournaments, to win a Grand Slam, to be in the final of another. I can't ask for a better year, so it's been an incredible year and I am so happy to be number one. To also finish at number one is a proud moment for me," Sania said, as reported by NDTV.

Also read: Ace Against Odds: The Sania Mirza Story

Sania is currently teamed up with Barbora Strycova in women's doubles. At a promotional event, she said, "I would love to win a Grand Slam next year. If that does happen (winning women's doubles French Open) it would be amazing. I won't kill myself if I don't. And it's the Wimbledon mix that I am missing. It would be amazing for me to have three back to back years with at-least one slam. So that would be my goal really and everything else follows."

While talking about her new partner Barbora Strycova and what plans the duo has for the future, she replied, "We played about six tournaments last year, we won two and played a final. We obviously had a good start and she is a great fighter, which is her biggest quality as a tennis player. So do I feel she is going to focus more on the other (singles)? Of course not. Whenever we step on the court, it is going be 100 per cent or we do not get on the court."

However, the year began for Sania on a sad note while she had to break up with her Swiss partner Martina Hingis to go for separate ways. What does Sania say about the split? "Not many people have achieved what we achieved together, so it was an incredible partnership and relationship we had on and off the court. I did learn from her because she is more experienced. But with Barbara, we are exactly the same age. We have played juniors together, we have known each other since we were 14-years old,” the Indian recalls.

Hingis Instagram post about split with Sania Mirza

Also read: Are women rewriting India’s sports history?

Sania added, "It's always tricky when you split with someone who you have so much success with. I was lucky enough to find someone with whom I got instant success and we happened to win one of the biggest tournaments of the year right after we split. This is a professional tour. Everybody wants to win and when it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out and you move on."

We hope Sania's success run continues in 2017. Go Sania!

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