An excellent chapter and an illustrious profession got here to an finish in Indian sport on Tuesday as Sania Mirza performed her final match as knowledgeable tennis participant on the WTA Dubai Duty Free Championships. Sania, who is among the biggest tennis gamers ever to emerge from India, closed her superb profession with a primary spherical defeat, dropping the competition in straight units with American companion Madison Keys in Dubai Tuesday. Sania and Keys misplaced 4-6, 0-6 to the formidable Russian pair of Vernokia Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova in precisely one hour. The 25-year-old Veronika is ranked eleventh in singles and quantity 5 within the doubles whereas Liudmila is world quantity 13 in doubles.

Just a month again Sania performed her final Grand Slam and ended with a runner-up end on the Australian Open together with compatriot Rohan Bopanna.

Now settled in Dubai, Sania would have hoped for a dream closing at her second house however she ran into a powerful Russian pairing that lower quick her keep within the ultimate match of her profession wherein she received 43 WTA doubles titles and one singles trophy.

Success was not the one spotlight of her nearly two-decade lengthy profession as unwarranted controversies chased Sania all through.

Sometimes she remained unfazed and stored going, attaining many a firsts. Sometimes she broke to the extent that she thought of not enjoying in India.

It was when she needed to show her love and loyality for India after being accused of disrespecting the tri-colour through the 2008 Hopman Cup in Australia.

Probably the worst jibe thrown at her was when she was referred to as daughter-in-law of Pakistan attributable to her wedding ceremony with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. This was after Telangana selected her to be their state ambassador.

All this, regardless of her inspiring on-court success.

After all, what number of from India turned a top-30 tennis gamers? How many excelled at Majors? How many turned world primary throughout codecs? How many received the year-end championships? In males’s tennis, only a handful and in ladies’s tennis, it is solely Sania.

And no participant is in sight who seems to be like even getting close to to what Sania has achieved. The hole is big and the most effective after Sania are additionally steadily fading.

The 36-year-old Sania, who turned Pro in 2003, walks out of aggressive tennis with six Grand Slam titles, together with three ladies’s doubles with Swiss legend Martina Hingis.

She received two of her three combined doubles with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi (2009 Australian Open and 2012 French Open). She received the US Open trophy with Bruno Soares.

However success eluded on the largest stage: Olympics. She was near profitable a bronze on the 2016 Rio Games however misplaced the play-off with Bopanna.

In the ultimate match of her profession, the breaks had been traded at swift tempo within the opening set which was locked at 4-4. From there, Kudermetova and Samsonova broke the pair of Sania and Keys yet another time for a 5-4 lead, inserting themselves able from the place they may serve out the set.

They did that fairly comfortably, dropping one level within the tenth sport.

Sania and her companion had been damaged within the very first sport of the second set and it was a technique visitors after that as they had been bageled.

.With PTI inputs