Sania to decide on Sunfeast Open in the last moment: Bhupathi

Kolkata, Sep 11 (UNI) Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza, nursing a wrist injury, will wait till the last moment to decide on her participation in the 175,000 dollar WTA Sunfeast Open commencing here on September 17, said Mahesh Bhupathi, head of tournament promoters 'Globosport'.

Sania, on a roll in the WTA circuit this year, had climbed to 27th spot in latest ranking from 66 in 2006 after a series of smashing victories against some of the top notch players, including Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina and Patty Schnyder.

However, she had been troubled by the nagging injury for a long time and aggravated it during her US Open campaign.

''She will take a final call on participating in the event closer to the tournament. We are hoping that she will play. She is also hoping the same, '' Bhupathi told UNI.

''We know she is injured. But she'll definitely travel to Kolkata where she will take the final decision. At this moment, we don't know the extent of her injury,'' he said.

The doubles specialist, however, said Sania as well as the organisers were hoping that her wrists recover in time so that she takes part in the tournament, which might otherwise lose some of its sheen.

Sania is presently in Hyderabad where she is recuperating from the injury.

Asked if there was a possiblity of delaying the opening tie to accommodate her in the tournament, Bhupathi said, ''We're even prepared to delay her opening match if that makes it possible for her to take to the court.'' Tournament director Jaidip Mukherjea told UNI, ''She is due to arrive here on Saturday. She will take the final decision on Sunday in all likeliness whether she will play or not.'' Sania herself would be eager to prove a point in Sunfeast Open that has not been the happiest turf for her after all. Though she lost in the second round in the inaugural year, Sania reached the singles semis last year losing to top seed Swiss Miss Martina Hingis besides lifting the doubles title pairing South African Liezel Huber.

With the tournament getting bigger every year and pulling bigger names and larger crowd, Sania would be a big void if she does not dazzle with her forehands and traditional punching the air.

UNI