Sania Mirza celebrated in style her entry into the top-50 in world rankings with a 6-2, 6-1 upset win over world number eight Nadia Petrova at the 1.3-million-dollar Acura Classic women's tennis event in San Diego.
The stunning win over the fourth seeded Petrova on Wednesday, her second against a top-10 player, saw the 18-year old advance to the third round of the Tier-I tournament as well as push her ranking upto 47th on the WTA Tour singles rankings.
Sania becomes the first Indian since Ramesh Krishnan to break into the top-50 in world rankings.
Vijay Amritraj was ranked 16th in July 1980, while Ramesh Krishnan was ranked 23rd in 1985. His father Ramanathan Krishnan was ranked world number three before the Open era.
The highest ranking occupied by an Indian woman before Sania exploded on the scene was 134 by Nirupama Vaidyanathan in 1997.
Leander Paes' highest ever singles ranking was 73.
Sania next faces Akiko Morigami of Japan, against whom she holds a 1-1 head to head record.
Going into the tournament, Sania needed around 90 points to break into the top-50. She has now accumulated 103.5 points (including bonus points) from her two main draw as well as two qualifying round wins.
Asked, what is she aiming at now that she had reached her stated goal for the year, Sania told reporters covering the match, "I only set short-term goals. It was top-50 till now. Anything over this is gravy. I will wait and see."
Sania has been an absolute hit in the US this season. Not that she had not played there before, but an Indian teenager unleashing forehands and backhands has made people sit up and take notice.
It is not only the Indian diaspora who have been thronging the courts but also the locals. And the American media have run special features on the Indian, famous for her pierced nose.
Sania, the first Indian to win a WTA title, might have turned her back on a pestering Indian media but she has been forthcoming with the reporters covering the event.
Speaking to Los Angeles Times after her first round win about the support she had received from her parents, Sania said, "my dad was a defensive batsman in cricket. But he advised me to be aggressive in tennis."
