Sania, Bethanie target Grand Slam, no. 1 spot

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Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands are having a ball together. Having started the year with a bang, winning the season-opening Brisbane, they faltered in the first round at the Australian Open. But it’s their ability to laugh the blues away and come back stronger that makes them a distinct duo.

Their closeness off the court was evident when Bethanie stopped by in Hyderabad for a couple of days on her way to the Doha Open beginning on Monday. The two in full flow resemble teenage girls who giggle a lot.
“We have lot of fun together, we laugh a lot. We play a lot of tournaments travelling through the year and I think it’s nice to have a partner that’s a good friend of yours, one you can talk to through the wins and losses,” Bethanie sums up.
“We are such good friends and help each other through tough situations — we don’t get down on each other and that’s probably the best part,” Sania chips in.
The friendship has a profound effect on the court. “I think chemistry is everything in any partnership or relationship. There are times you don’t feel all that confident and you need the other person to take over. It helps us that we know each other so well and get along,” Sania says.
Ask the ladies about how difficult it is for married women to be on the circuit, and they break into peals of laughter.
“Not much, as my husband travels with me most of the time. It’s like me and my husband are together T-W-E-N-T-Y F-O-U-R hours a day,” Bethanie says throwing an adoring glance at Justin Sands even as Sania chuckles, before coming back with a doting “…and we love each other still.
“It’s nice to have him on the road as you have life outside of tennis. We have other things to do that are more important actually, than tennis. Tennis is our job but it does not have to define us,” the American says.
Right now, Sania and Bethanie are hoping to avoid injuries. “This year we started off well winning a tournament and hopefully we won’t have to deal with that situation where we’re off for two months and then suddenly we have to get used to each other again,” Sania says.
Sania says they would “want to try and win as many tournaments as we can, and of course, want to be no.1 in the world.”
A Grand Slam title is also on the radar. “We would want to definitely win a Slam this year or the next because I think that is something I feel we can do in women’s doubles.”