Former India Davis Cup player Enrico Piperno said Sania Mirza's game has been understood by her rivals after one year on the circuit and the Hyderabad tennis sensation needed to evolve new plans to continue her progress in the women's game at the international level.
"Sania Mirza is a very confident player which I realised four years ago at Busan Asian Games itself when she was unfazed before taking on her rival Janet Lee, who was 55th in world rankings as compared to Sania at well beyond 600," said the Indian women's Fed Cup coach.
"I feel she has the potential to climb into the top 20, but as has been pointed out by (former India captain) Vijay Amritraj she has chinks in her armour, one of which is her instinctive style of play, like Leander Paes, that has been understood by her rivals and their coaches," Piperno said at a sports seminar here.
Praising the power generated by the Hyderabad lass on her strong suit, forehand, Piperno also pointed out the fact that she needed to improve her serve and become quicker on the court in order to face stronger rivals across the net.
"It was seen in the Fed Cup tie against Australia (the qualifiers for the World group) in the crucial deciding clash when her rival attacked her backhand constantly and Sania could not run around and hit forehands as she would have wanted," Piperno noted at the function organised by the Sports Journalists' Federation of India (SJFI).
{{/usCountry}}"It was seen in the Fed Cup tie against Australia (the qualifiers for the World group) in the crucial deciding clash when her rival attacked her backhand constantly and Sania could not run around and hit forehands as she would have wanted," Piperno noted at the function organised by the Sports Journalists' Federation of India (SJFI).
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