Rio de Janeiro: Just one win away from assuring an Olympics tennis medal, the mixed doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna said they would have to keep the emotion aside and start afresh when they play in the semifinals.
In their bid to win a maiden Olympic medal, Sania and Bopanna dominated the quarterfinals proceedings against the British duo of Andy Murray and Heather Watson in 6-4 6-4 win in one hour and seven minutes at the Court 2 of Olympic Tennis Centre at Barra.
“We still think we can improve as every round becomes tougher from here on. We played two amazing champions today and we look forward to playing champions, whoever it is, tomorrow. Everyday is a new day. Yes we are confident after beating Andy but in the end we have to forget the emotion what happened and give our best again by staying fresh,” Sania said.
The Indian duo will face the American pair of Venus Williams and Ram Rajeev in the semifinals. If they win the semifinals match, Sania and Bopanna will be assured of at least a silver and if they lose, they will still play for the bronze-medal match.
The world number one doubles player Sania said they had done homework against the British pair and that clicked.
“We had a gameplan, saw their videos. We had to stick to it and try to keep Andy out of it. We wanted to make him play the uncomfortable shots. He’s obviously the best in the world. We had to try and bring him in,” she said.
“My return was coming good for me. Whenever he did play we had to play to his weakness. He was serving and volleying. No matter what happens I know I was the one who’s going to be attacked. That’s what happens when you’re a girl. You obviously expect the ball is going to come to you as a guy always serves better and stronger. You have to be ready.