Be patient with Sania Mirza

Sania Mirza needs not be disheartened by the criticisms her inconsistent performance draws. She has the whole-hearted support of Vijay Amritraj.

Amritraj insists there is no reason to write Sania off right now. "It is very tough out there and sania mirza has done remarkably well in the last three-four years. Now sania mirza needs support from all quarters to keep going. I would ask people not to go by her performance in a tournament. Rather, wait for the full season to get over," he said. "Sania mirza has done a brilliant job and inspired a whole generation of youngsters, which is fantastic for women's tennis in the country," he added.

Amritraj admitted Sania mirza has been inconsistent but argued she was not the first player to struggle. "Consistency has always been an issue in tennis, or any other sport for that matter. Not everyone can play like Roger Federer. He plays his matches on a different planet. It is important to look at one whole season. I think if you do well in five-six tournaments a year, that's quite good," he explained.

He also refused to read much into the fact that Sania mirza beat Martina Hingis in Seoul and then lost to a lower-ranked player in Tashkent. "I don't see any problem with her. Yes Sania mirza has had some defeats against lower-ranked players but again; Sania is not the first player to suffer. None questions Rafael Nadal when he lost to a lowly player. But why isn't anyone doing the same with Sania mirza? But yes, you have to play better in bigger tournaments because points are heavily loaded in (Grand) Slams, Masters and Tier-I tournaments," he added.

Amritraj, who led India to two Davis Cup finals, however, kept mum on Mahesh Bhupathi's refusal to play for the country. He admitted that there exists a huge gap between Sania mirza and the rest of the upcoming players.