http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...1-3162,00.html
UNLIKE Jelena Dokic, Indian sensation Sania Mirza enjoys the happiest of relationships with her coach-father.
Revered in her homeland as a Sachin Tendulkar with a tennis racquet, Mirza safely progressed to the second round of the Open yesterday before revealing a refreshingly productive partnership with her father Imran.
Mirza, 20, said she had no plans to ditch her dad in favour of a more established mentor.
"I always say never fix what's not broken," Mirza said after her 6-3 7-5 defeat of Ukraine's Olga Savchuk.
"When I have a bad patch, or if I do, then maybe we can work on getting a coach.
"My dad's always been the super coach. I mean, he's always been around since I was kid and I think he understands me, obviously, on a personal level.
"He's my father. We get along great. He's very easygoing. That helps it a lot because he's very relaxed after a match, before a match.
"He takes tennis only as a sport and I think that's what's important.
"He doesn't think that this is it. It's part of life.
"I think we both understand that's what makes the relationship work."
Mirza's drama-free relationship with her dad is something of a rarity in women's elite tennis.
We all know of Dokic's troubles and, before her, Mary Pierce, Jennifer Capriati and the Williams sisters have all had to endure overbearing fathers in their corners.
Mirza will continue to focus on inspiring other Indian women to take up tennis.
"It's a great feeling when people come up and say, 'I picked up a tennis racquet because of you and because of what you've done'," Mirza said.
"You need a role model to look up to, I guess. When you look at someone doing it from your own country, from your own city, you start believing that you can do it too.
"Tennis right now is growing in such a big way. It's not close to cricket but it's catching up." - AAP
Mr. Mirza: One dad who's good for tennis
