Sania Mirza (L) and Ankita Raina (Photo Credit: IANS)
Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina started their preparations for the Billie Jean King Cup tie in opposition to Latvia in Dubai.
- IANS Dubai
- Last Updated:April 04, 2021, 17:36 IST
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India’s tennis ace Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina started their preparations for the Billie Jean King Cup, beforehand Fed Cup, tie in opposition to Latvia in Dubai in a bid to get again to peak health as rapidly as attainable for the two-day away contest on April 16-17. The duo shall be working collectively for every week earlier than boarding the flight to Latvia. This is the first time in historical past that the Indian girls’s tennis crew has made it to the World Group play-offs. The execs shall be main a five-member crew that features Karman Kaur Thandi, the fast-improving Zeel Desai and Rutuja Bhosale.
Last month, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) choice committee had chosen the crew, to be captained by Vishal Uppal, after a digital assembly and Riya Bhatia, who performed the match final 12 months, has been saved as a reserve.
India made it to the World Group play-offs for the first time by advantage of ending second in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie, which happened in the United Arab Emirates in March 2020, whereas Latvia had been crushed by the US in their group.
India are unlikely to have a simple outing as Latvia shall be fielding a robust crew that has the likes of former French Open champion and present world No. 54 Jelena Ostapenko, apart from 2018 US Open semi-finalist Anastasija Sevastova, who was ranked world No. 11 at her peak.
Latvia had given the Serena Williams-led US crew a tricky time in the 2020 qualifiers earlier than dropping 2-3.
India’s hopes of profitable the tie will relaxation on Ankita, who has earned the popularity of a giant-killer over the years, whereas Sania’s expertise will come in helpful for the younger crew.
The tie shall be performed at the National Tennis Centre, Lielupe, Latvia.
