Steffi Graf was my idol growing up, I wanted to have a forehand like hers: Sania Mirza reminisces on her career after final Grand Slam outing
Now that she is at the very end of her very distinguished career, Sania Mirza revealed that Steffi Graf was her idol while growing up and that she had always wanted to emulate the German's forehand.
Mirza's illustrious Grand Slam career came to an end at the 2023 Australian Open on Friday, as she lost the mixed doubles final with Rohan Bopanna. The Indian pair were beaten 6(2)-7, 2-6 by the Brazilian duo of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos.
In her post-match press conference, Mirza was asked about her forehand and how it had evolved over the years. The former doubles World No. 1 admitted that the shot won her a few Grand Slams, adding that it was something that came naturally to her.
"It feels great, especially when you go past the guy on a short crosscourt forehand. Feels amazing. But that shot has won me a few slams and won me a few tournaments, and it was something that came very naturally to me," Mirza said.
The 36-year-old chalked it up to her idol Steffi Graf, whom she had tried to emulate in her early days. While she did not want to put hers next to Graf's forehand, Mirza was chuffed with herself for having come close to the 22-time Grand Slam champion in that respect.
"Steffi Graf was my idol growing up who had one of the biggest forehands, if not the biggest, you know, in the world. I always wanted to emulate her. I wanted to have a forehand like hers," Sania Mirza said.
"I'm so glad that I was able to come close to that, and people talk about my forehand. That's something that I feel that it's been such a big weapon in my life and in my career, and it's really taken me places in singles, doubles, and mixed," she added.
American tennis' latest sensation Sebastian Korda claimed that Steffi Graf's forehand was "killing him"
Steffi Graf's forehand is considered to be among the very best in tennis history and was a key reason behind her successful 22 Grand Slam-winning career. It troubled many of her rivals in her heyday and some of today's rising stars have also found her forehand difficult to play against, including Sebastian Korda.
The 22-year-old trained with Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi in Las Vegas a few years back and later revealed that the German's cross-court forehand was "killing him."
"I was on court a couple of times with Steffi, I didn’t want to play with her, I was way too intimidated by her," Korda said. "Her forehand crosscourt was just killing me so I was like 'I can’t do this anymore'."