Sunday, September 16

The Hyderabad hottie arrives late on Sunday at The Sonar Calcutta dressed in a smart white top with a tight-fitted sleeveless jacket, a bag slung across her, her silver hoops and nose-ring in place. She retires to her room almost as soon as she arrives. Whoosh…

Monday, September 17

10.30am: Game, set, match. Not on centre court but on the waterfront. Sania engages in a battle of the sexes — a fun match with Mahesh Bhupathi on a barge on the Hooghly. Sporting a bright yellow jacket and black capris, her new hairdo neatly tied back, she wins the opening toss and chooses to serve.

“Out, it’s out,” hollers Sania, doubling over with laughter when Mahesh hits the ball back. Charu Sharma, sports presenter and commentator, is referee for the game and we all know whose side he’s on! Bhupathi, in a white tee and blue tracks, plays like a true gent and lets the lady win with ease.

But the victory doesn’t make her happy enough to address her fans. While Mahesh gives in and answers a few questions, Sania goes hop, skip and jump into another boat to join her mother, and sails off into the distance. There is no holding her back — she looks hassled and the September sun doesn’t help.

So the only ones who got a real taste of the Sania magic were the fishermen on the Hooghly, landing a couple of tennis balls in their nets! Too bad they weren’t autographed.

Looks: Casual and cool.

Attitude on barge: Game for action and enjoys good play.

Attitude off barge: Unwilling to interact with journalists and is ready to run off!

3pm: At AMRI Hospitals in Dhakuria, patients and visitors are in for a surprise! The lady with the lamp, oops, nose-ring, makes a stunning appearance in blue denims, white deep-cut tee, short black jacket and high heels. Like always, she looks self-possessed and in control as she looks up five-year-old Jonathan, suffering from leukaemia. She meets a few other cancer patients, signs some tennis balls and hands them out. Everyone goes gaga — visitors, authorities, gateman, liftman, hospital staff… “I’m so excited to see her, but if my senior catches me on the steps here, I’m going to get into trouble,” giggles a young intern.

She is out of the door in 20 minutes, but the Sania effect lingers.

Looks: Florence Nightingale turned Mumait (Munnabhai MBBS) Khan!

Interaction with patients: Genuine compassion and care, she talks to them and holds their hands.

7.30pm: At the official inauguration of the Sunfeast Open, Sania tries to take a backseat. Present at the occasion are Mahesh Bhupathi, Sunitha Rao, Charu Sharma, tournament director Jaidip Mukerjea and a few other WTA players. After the cutting of the ribbon, Sania in a pink top and black capris hits a couple of shots into the crowd for fans to grab. That’s all they will get from Sania, as she pulls out with a wrist injury. She heads off to the seating stall, stays put for about 10 minutes, and does the disappearing act again.

Looks: Alert and elusive.

Interaction with crowd: Actions speak louder than words!

Tennis speak: Grand ‘Slam’, minus the grand.

Tuesday, September 18

11.30 am: Sania meets Sachin Tendulkar. Nobody bats an eyelid as the two sporting icons shake hands at The Sonar Calcutta and then settle down for a chat. The taller of the two, Sania is dressed in jeans and a top. Sachin glows in a bright red tee. “It’s a little embarrassing, but he’s been my hero. I love cricket, I watch it all the time,” grins she. And when the colour of Sachin’s cheeks matches his T-shirt, Sania laughs and asks him, “Are you okay?” Meeting Shah Rukh Khan for the first time in Mumbai was also a big thing for her, the youngster confesses. “It was very nice meeting him. He’s got a new look…” What about her new look? “Well, I’m just trying new things.” Her repartees are as swift as her forehand!

Looks: Her hair is straightened and she is visibly excited — on the edge of giggly-goo.

Interaction with Sachin: Shy at first but once the ice is broken, she’s nothing less than coy.

Interaction with journalists: This is her first verbal interaction of the tournament with the media, tackled with ease.

4pm: Sania is at her best on centre court. Not in tennis gear, but in a black printed top, buckled belt, blue denims and black ballerinas. Not with racquet in hand but with mike firmly in place. She climbs into the chair umpire’s perch at an exhibition mixed doubles match — slightly strangely mixed with three men and one woman — between Mahesh Bhupathi and Bhaichung Bhutia versus Sachin Tendulkar and Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko (who went on to lift the Sunfeast Open trophy).

For a brief while, Sania has a ball. “I’m the boss,” she jokes, but goes on to admit that she isn’t a wholly neutral arbiter. This chair umpire was “a little biased” towards Sachin. “Mahesh is not allowed any backhands,” she commands, and “Bhaichung, you can use your feet if you want to!” she laughs.

Tendulkar is the surprise package. If in the morning he joked, “I’m terrible at tennis”, in the evening he proved himself quite wrong. Hard-hitting backhands, smooth moves and some drop shots too, it was Advantage Sachin, no less. “We can see Sachin’s been practising at least,” giggles Sania.

And then she is off.

So long, Sania. Till next time — hopefully more on court than off.

Karo Christine Kumar

What do you like/don’t like about Sania? Tell t2@abpmail.com

FITFACTS

At the gym, Sania used the treadmill, did some light stretching exercises with the help of the instructor and even used the section of the spa that has the Jacuzzi, steam and sauna.