A knee surgery may have kept Sania Mirza out of action for two months but a career-best singles ranking of 27 and a slew of wins over top-20 players convince her that she had the best year of her career so far.
Bouncing back from the surgery to touch new heights this year, Sania proved her initial success was not a flash in the pan and says it was a "personal victory" for her in the breakthrough year.
"It was a successful year for me -- perhaps my best so far. And it was a personal victory for me to have done reasonably despite the knee surgery that also took away 10 weeks from my year," Sania told PTI in an interview.
After making a fine start to 2007, reaching semifinals at Hobart and Pattaya City, Sania's momentum was snapped in March when her right knee was put under the knife, throwing her out of action for two months.
She, however, bounced back in style in the second half of the season and had a bull run in the summer hardcourt season where she reached the final at Stanford, semifinal at Cincinnati and quarterfinal in the Tier I event at San Diego.
On the way, she conquered five top-20 players, including former number one Martina Hingis at Los Angeles.
"I was playing as well when I was ranked 66 at the beginning of the year as I was when I was ranked 27 towards the latter half of the year," Sania said.
At the US Open, she became the first Indian woman to be seeded in a Grand Slam event even though her campaign was cut short in the third round.
Her exploits showed in her rankings as well and the Hyderabadi ace rose to 27 in singles in August, and four doubles titles with four different partners saw her leapfrog to an all-time high doubles ranking of 18.
Towards the end of the year, injuries came to plague her again and she opted out of a couple of events with abdominal strain.
Sania, however, does not think she was the only player to face the problem and said, "One is always working towards improving one's game and fitness and this is an ongoing process. Every top 100 player on the tour is struggling with fitness issues. Of course, Indians are probably not as fit as the average European or American but then we have our other strengths."
And after roping in a new physical trainer in Renuka Pinto, Sania is getting battle-hardenend for the season ahead.
"The role of the physio-trainer is manifold. She has to help the player increase her speed, endurance and overall fitness level. She also has to manage injuries and strengthen specific areas of the body to prevent injuries," Sania says about her new fitness regime.
"We concentrate more on the overall improvement in my game and fitness level with special emphasis on things like my serve and volleys."
Dwelling on the level of competition in women's tennis, she said it has grown in leaps and bounds.
"It's phenomenally high with a lot more depth today even compared to five years ago. I think the level is at its highest ever," says poster girl of Indian tennis.
Sania also set the target higher for the forthcoming year and believes finishing within the top-10 is not impossible altogether.
"It is a possibility but a lot of things have to fall into place and there are no guarantees."
