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MUMBAI:
Sania Mirza’s quest of adding a second WTA Tour title –
when she starts as one of the overwhelming favourites in the Sunfeast
Open – will be available live and exclusive only on Ten Sports,
the most watched sports channel of the sub-continent.
The
$175,000 Sunfeast Open, the biggest women’s tournament in India,
is a WTA Tier III tournament. It starts in Kolkata from 17 September,
with the final scheduled for 23 September.
Sania,
who has improved to a career-high 27th rank in the world, is in
good form as her performance in the pre-US Open tournaments shows.
She reached the final at Stanford, semi-final at Cincinnati, and
quarterfinals at San Diego. She also reached the third round of
the US Open.
But
she will have her task cut out, given the presence of such stars
as world number 10 and the Wimbledon runners-up Marion Bartoli of
France, and number 12 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Also making
an appearance will be the Russian, Maria Kirilenko, currently ranked
35th in the world.
Live
telecast of the matches start at 7:00 pm on the first two days,
and from 5:00 pm IST on the next four days, including the final
on Sunday, 23 September.
The
Sunfeast Open is yet another blockbuster in the impressive tennis
portfolio of Ten Sports. The channel recently showed the US Open
live.
Chris
McDonald, CEO, Taj Television Ltd, commented: "Sania Mirza’s
popularity easily rivals some of the best cricketers in the country,
and the expectations from her are huge given that she has shown
excellent form in the US hard court season".
“Ten
Sports is committed to promoting sport in the sub-continent, and
the Sunfeast Open forms a very important event on our programming
calendar.”
As
a build-up towards this most anticipated event, Sania is also the
Legend of the Month on Ten Sports, and a half-an-hour preview show
of the tournament will also be aired on 14 September at 8:30 pm
IST and 17 September at 4:30 pm.
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