Sunfeast Open lookback
The lights in Netaji Indoor Stadium still shine. The stadium was renovated last year.
The tournament saw a lot of seeds upset early but ended with Martina Hingis winning the singles quite comfortably. She wasn’t stretched at any point in the tournament and was typical Hingis - winning using timing and placement rather than power.
The semi-final versus Mirza was the big attraction from the local point of view. However, the match disappointed at large. Mirza started off with a bit of promise considering her first serves were going in more often than not. However, the aspect where she missed out was going for the placement game versus Martina Hingis. 99 times out of 100, if you try to beat Hingis at her strength, you will end up second best.
Mirza played the waiting game instead of going for her shots - her main strength. When she did go the power route for a couple of games in the second set, she looked far more effective and looked like troubling Hingis, even if it was for a few points. The problem with the service showed up after a few games in the first set itself though and though there has been a marked improvement in Mirza’s service, more power and accuracy is still needed. Mirza did win the doubles as a consolation prize but as Hingis said, the promise is there for the future.
Over all, the tournament was dampening because many of the top seeds went out early. The novelty factor present in the inaugral Sunfeast Open wasn’t there as well. The tournament is still in it’s infancy and bringing Hingis to play in only the second year of the event is a huge achievement in itself.
The following are a few more pictures my friends and I took. Hope you like them:
The chair umpire checks that the measurements of the net, sidelines are perfect before the match starts.
Camera man, Mr. Utpal Moitra shoots the action.
Mirza ready to serve.
Tags: Martina Hingis, Sania Mirza.
