New Delhi, June 08: Having reached as far as the semi-finals of the French Open junior doubles events, rising tennis star Sania Mirza is now concentrating her energies on Wimbledon later this month. The 16-year-old Sania is definitely pleased with her show at Roland Garros but she knows she still has a lot of ground to cover, especially as far as singles are concerned.
"I am happy with the way I played in French Open. We reached the semis (in doubles), but I had a bad singles week," Sania told today.
Sania and Sanaa Bhambri reaching a grand slam semi-finals was a significant achievement in the country's junior tennis but the girl from Hyderabad has her feet on the ground.
Although India has more than one junior grand slam champion - Ramanathan Krishnan (1954), Ramesh Krishnan (1979) and Leander Paes (1990, 91) -- what Sania and Sanaa have done in the doubles section is second only to Mahesh Bhupathi and Nitin Kirtane reaching Wimbledon finals in 1992.
Sania, who lost in the first round in the singles event in Paris, was quick to point out that singles was still the bread and butter for her.
"It is always good to play and win some doubles but my priority is still singles," she said.
Sania and her teammates would next play two junior events in Germany before moving to Roehampton, a tune-up for the Wimbledon junior championships beginning June 30. Bureau Report