Sania, who is here to play in the WTA Tier III DFS classic, declared open the state-of-the art tennis facility at harborne hill school in Edgbaston, Birmingham, yesterday. Andy Wright, head teacher of Harborne hill school said, "it is absolutely brilliant to have Sania Mirza here today to open the courts officially. It is a big lift for the school, the sport and is fantastic for the area."
Sania, world number 41, said it was a humbling experience for her. "It is really nice that tennis is catching up all over the world. It is great that they are trying to get tennis as one of the main games after cricket or football in England and India, so as a tennis player I have a responsibility to make the game grow in anyway I can.
"There have been a lot of girls now picking up tennis rackets and say 'i want to play tennis'. It's nice to know that people look up to and they want to be like you one day," she said.
Sania also sounded confident about her first round game against Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko.
