Courtside Sania
Pooja apparently had the best U.S. Open seats ever when she saw Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi at the U.S. Open on Saturday. Mirza is looking leaner, meaner and, uh, un-Islamic 
All photos are courtesy our favorite children’s books author and her mighty zoom lens:
Two are from her third round match against Anna Chakvetadze. She lost miserably to the talented Russian–6-2, 6-3–but showed off her awesome forehand. Aside from the usual encouragement from the stands, we heard:
“Chak de, Sania!” (Go, Sania!)
“Chod na math!” (”Don’t leave her!” when Mirza broke Chakvetadze in the second set.)
“Biryani khao!” (Eat biryani!)
The other two photos are from Mirza’s second round mixed doubles match against American Bob Bryan and Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin in which Mirza partnered with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi. Mirza and Bhupathi won 6-7 (7), 6-3, 10-2 (super tiebreaker).
on Monday, September 3rd, 2007, 2:18 pm in Photos, Sania Mirza, Sports › 
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Glad you enjoyed the pictures. And a quick update, Mirza and her women’s doubles partner, American Bethanie Mattek, have just upset Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur, who are seeded #2. Chak de, Sania!
TOI, some time back had a discussion forum where TOI posed the question .. “Is Sania all hype?”
Can they get any more absurd than that?? There is no women’s player from India who can even come close to what Sania has achieved in just a few years. In doubles she has been winning championships. On the other hand the Indian Cricket team cant win anything and they have pages and pages devoted in major newspapers. Talk about hype.
“Shaabash Sania”
Nice photos, Pooja!
he he. at least it wasn’t ‘biryani khana bandh karo,’ though i wouldn’t put that past desis, either.
she, and her career, increasingly look in good form - i hope she makes it far enough so that i can catch one of her doubles games on television.
I second Anil. Nice photos, Pooja.
Let me ask The Question: is there a regulation that requires female players to wear skirts? I mean it’s so obvious she’d have more flexibility if she didn’t. If she wore shorts, would she be running afoul of some regulation? Although I can see how even those could eventually get shorter and shorter.
Au contraire, actually. Extensive scientific research conducted by sportswear manufacturers has established beyond doubt that skirts enhance flexibility more than shorts. Ancient warriors knew this and most of them wore skirts (remember Brave heart?). But, blatant discrimination has meant that men are not allowed to wear skirts whilst playing tennis. Also, in most tournaments they are forced to work 66.7% more than women, for the same amount of pay. But, as more and more people are becoming aware of these glaring issues, pretty soon the ATP honchos will be forced to back down and enforce corrective measures. I can’t wait for the day when men will play three-set matches in skirts.
Me neither.
Martina N. always wore shorts and Venus Williams frequently wears shorts now (see Wimby 07).
ak, Sania and Bettany are playing today (third match on Louis Armstrong Stadium). Not sure how much they might show on TV–lots of marquee singles’ matches this afternoon–but it’s worth a look.
I’m glad she lost those daft socks.
“Chod na math!†“Biryani khao!†(Eat biryani!)
If I were Sania, I would intentionally lose so I don’t have to hear such cheer again from such loser spectators. Totally lame!!!, Chod na Math- wtf is that?.
BTW- “Sania and Bethania” are one hot team!! if they make it to the finals, I am sure the TV rating will go off the roof.
Another update: Mirza/Bhupathi are out of the tournament; Mirza/Mattek are playing RIGHT NOW and are on serve. Unfortunately, it’s not on the teevee due to the Djokovik/Monaco match. (Yes, I am chained to my television these two weeks.)
I guess it’s “chhodna” mat (à ¤›à ¥‹à ¤¡à ¤¼à ¤¨à ¤¾ à ¤®à ¤¤ ). That means “don’t leave it/her” i. e.”don’t let your opponent off the hook”
@13
I am glad it is not the other “Chod”…….you get my drift ;-)
Last I checked, Sania is from Hyderabad. Wouldn’t a Telugu or Urdu cheer be more appropriate?
Gatiga Kotu (Hit it hard)
Sania has really improved her game… I think her serve is still a work in progress. Anyone catch
the picture of Martina Navratilova in a sari (at the bottom)?
http://www.desimatch.com/desi-planet/desi-archive/magazine63a.html
Here’s Anna Kournikova in a sari.