[JulieSmithdccd]

I had got into a depression: Sania Mirza
Nandini Kumar
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 03:31 IST


You would remember this image — an overwrought Sania Mirza wincing in pain as she retired hurt from the first round of the Beijing Olympics in August, the wrist injury thereafter keeping her out of action. This was followed by a fall to world No.101 from the exhilaration of top-30 (world No.27). Depression was inevitable. “It’s definitely been a low for me, especially after the Olympics. I had got into a depression,” a refreshingly cheerful Sania told DNA on Monday.

She arrived in Bangalore for a three-week tennis camp, as a run-up to her exhibition match in Hong Kong (JB group Classic tennis tournament) in January 2009, followed by the WTA event at Hobart and the Australian Open, where she will play mixed doubles alongside Bhupathi.

She was forthright about feeling despondent. “I didn’t want to watch the US Open because I couldn’t play. I didn’t get out of the house for two three weeks. I did not want to meet people. I think that’s when my friends and family counted,” she said. “They have been there and supported me - whether it was Mahesh (Bhupathi) or my dad or my friend Megha, who is also my manager. It’s a part and parcel of our career and we need to deal with it.”

Happily, the injury and the pain both seemed to be a thing of the past on Monday, as the tennis player went through a two-and-a-half-hour long training session with Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna at the Tennis Village. “I am feeling great right now. I don’t regret anything that has happened in the past. I am a positive person and I am just looking forward to a good new year, and trying to stay healthy,” she said.

She said her struggle had been educational. “I have learnt a lot in the past few days. It’s taught me to be patient; it’s taught me to accept things. Tennis is a part of my life and not my life,” she said

Rest of articlr: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1214295