Sania Mirza in action against Laura Granville in New York on Thursday. (Reuters)

New York: Call it pluck or just old-fashioned grit. A 21-year-old realising that it’s not only about hitting winners all the time but also surviving when one is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Whichever way you look at it, Sania Mirza’s 6-3, 7-5 victory over unseeded American Laura Granville, which catapulted her to the third round of the US Open on Thursday, caps the spirited Hyderabadi’s truly remarkable return to the circuit.

In May this year, when Sania rejoined the Tour at the Tier IV Morocco Open after a two-and-half-month injury layoff and made a hasty first round exit against a qualifier, doubters had questioned her hunger for success at the highest level.

She did nothing to suggest otherwise, falling in the first round again in Istanbul. A second round ouster followed on the red clay of French Open against Ana Ivanovic (the eventual runner-up).

Suddenly, Sania, who has single-handedly borne the brunt of a star-starved nation ever since she burst onto the international circuit, was written off as someone with a poor serve, questionable attitude and suffering from lack of fitness.

The ratings dipped, critics sharpened their knives and Sania’s career seemed to be heading south. In June, she progressed to the second round in Birmingham, fell in the very first match at Hertogenbosch and lost in Round II against Nadia Petrova (the No.11 seed) at Wimbledon.

When the going gets tough, the tough usually get going. The 21-year-old from Hyderabad made a solid start to the summer hardcourts in July, reaching the semi-finals in Cincinnati, was runner-up in Stanford and made the quarters in San Diego.

Her run in Stanford involved beating two top-20 players , No.19 Tatiana Golovin and No.17 Patty Schnyder. The hunger seemed to be returning.

By August 6, Sania rose to No.30 in rankings. The doubles titles also came as a boost. In Los Angeles, after being defeated by a “fitter, hungrier” Sania, Hingis said the Indian was looking “ready and fresh for more”. The world No.12 should have known.

In the year’s last major, Sania’s first round win over Kaia Kanepi was followed by her statement: “I want to reach the fourth round”, something she had done back in 2005.

It won’t be easy, however. The Indian, seeded 26th here, was made to sweat for an hour and 22 minutes on Thursday before sealing a date with sixth-seeded Anna Chakvedatze.

The Russian reached the last 32 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Australian Nicole Pratt.

Sania has lost all three times she has faced Chakvetadze — once in Hobart and twice in the US hardcourt series (Cincinnati and Stanford).

But with Sania’s game on the upswing, spirit on the rise, the serve not betraying at crucial moments, a billion Indians will be willing her through. The stage is set.