Hyderabad: Having won Wimbledon women's doubles crown with Martina Hingis, India's star tennis player Sania Mirza on Tuesday said she would like continue her winning run in the US Open.
Sania became the first Indian to clinch the Wimbledon women's doubles title.
"The hard court season is just round the corner. We like playing on that surface. Last year, I made it to the semi-finals there and Martina made it to the final. So we are looking forward to going there, hopefully as the No. 1 seeds. The focus now is on the US Open. I think another goal will be to qualify for Singapore year-ending championship (WTA Finals)," she said.
Sania and her Swiss partner Martina, seeded top, got the better of Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 in a thrilling final in London.
"It's a childhood dream coming true for me, to win the Wimbledon title," she said, proudly displaying the trophy. Sania, who arrived at her home town here early on Tuesday from London, said she would like to set only "very short term goals" in life and not look too far ahead. "The (Rio) Olympics is too distant to focus on," she said, when asked whether that was one of her goals.
Sania said it would be an honour for her to represent the country in Olympics again. "I played in a few Olympics now. Definitely, it would be an honour for me to represent my country again. Olympics is a long way off. If I am healthy, we will do whatever we can to try and win that," Sania said.
Referring to the warm reception she received at the airport in Hyderabad on her arrival today, Sania said she felt nostalgic as she was reminded of her junior Wimbledon win.
Sania said she felt honoured on being appreciated by top leaders like PM Narendra Modi and also the people of India. "I feel very honoured to be able to share this with the whole country," she said.
Asked was there any pressure on her and her partner Martina Hingis, she said they believed in themselves, though it was not easy to finish off the match. She said shared a great understanding with Hingis.
"To be a top seed at the Grand Slam is something very special. But, having said that, it also puts a lot of pressure on you. Anything less than a win, it's a failure as No. 1 seed. If you do win, you are supposed to win. That's how it works. But, we are privileged to be in that position. Everyone is looking for us to win. We are the hunted now. We were not really in that position earlier," she said on playing in the future tournaments.
She, however, said there is certain system which is lacking in the country for tennis to grow.
"I have said this enough number of times. Mahesh (Bhupathi) and I and others - we have said this so many times. We lack a certain system. We are not the most tennis friendly nation in the world. Cricket is there. We need a system. We are trying to do whatever we can. We are trying to help kids...," she said.
On Saturday, Sania won her first-ever women's doubles Grand Slam title when she and Hingis produced a stirring fightback to claim the Wimbledon women's doubles.
Hingis held her serve to seal the victory over the Russians. The match had been stopped at 5-5 in the third set to allow the roof to be shut, as darkness fell on the All England Club.
Sania had earlier won three mixed doubles titles at Grand Slams. She won the Australian Open (2009) and French Open (2012) with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi and the US Open with Bruno Soares last year. (PTI)
