I was not as rusty as I had thought, says Sania after annexing Hobart title

There was not much rustiness but just the initial nervousness, which a "pleasantly surprised" Sania Mirza shook off to win a title in her first tournament in 27 months, capping off her comeback from a maternity leave in style.

Partnering Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenov, the trailblazing Indian tennis player annexed the Hobart International trophy with a straight set win over second seed Chinese pair of Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang.

She worked hard to get into shape but the way she moved, it seemed Sania was never away from the courts.

"It's something I did not expect totally, so to say, but I am excited to be able to do this in my first tournament on comeback," Sania told PTI in an exclusive interview from Melbourne.

"I honestly thought I would be a bit more rustier than I was. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not as rusty as I thought. But there are things I can improve upon and that is what make a champion. You always want to get better in what you are doing, no matter how well you do."
"The body is a lot different now. It recovers different. But recovery (process) has not changed so much, it's similar."
Asked if she could go for her shots as she was doing before the break, she said, "I was able to do enough, I can improve, no matter how I play."
"My serve was decent but I can improve. I the first match I was not serving that well and was not returning well on important points but by the time I was playing the final, I was doing both of those little better. It is a process, it does not happen overnight. It's something will keep working on."
"I did not speak to any one but it is inspiring to see so many moms around, playing well in different sports."
"She plays backhand side and was available, so it just happened."