Sunday, February 20 2005 14:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: India's top woman tennis player Sania Mirza today (Feb 20, 2005) said she was looking forward to play the Dubai Open with a wild card and would start training tomorrow (Feb 21, 2005) despite her ankle injury.

''I am looking forward to play the Dubai Open. I will try to deliver my best. I am yet to recover from the ankle injury but will start training tomorrow,'' Sania, the first Indian woman to win a WTA Open at Hyderabad, told reporters in Kolkata.

The 18-year-old tennis sensation, who has turned down a wild card for the Qatar Open beginning tomorrow, said she planned to leave for Dubai on February 25-26.

However, Sania's father Imran Mirza said that she was still awaiting the wild card for the Dubai meet. ''She expects to get it this week and will leave soon after''.

On a whirlwind visit to the metropolis, Sania said she was yet to decide on her next assignment after Dubai and would focus primarily on improving her fitness by undertaking six-eight hours of training daily.

''The next assignments will depend on the condition of my ankle. It is much better now but still there is some pain,'' she said.

The Hyderabad girl, who shared dais with Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and soccer star Bhaichung Bhutia for a fund raising programme at Siliguri yesterday, had lunch at Sourav's, the multi-cuisine restaurant owned by Ganguly.

Asked whether she had received any special tips from the cricketer, Sania said, ''Sourav gave me some tips on how to grow patience''.

Sania, who entralled the nation by reaching the third round in the Australian Open before breaking into the top 100 ranking, said she was not bogged down by the growing pressure and only wanted to enjoy the game and train harder to improve performance on the court.

''I just go on enjoying the game, enjoy hitting every ball,'' she said. Asked to comment on Shikha Uberoi and Ankita Bhambri, her teammates in the Fed Cup zonal tie in April, Sania said both were great players and had the potential to make it big in the professional circuit.

''Shikha is a great player and a good teammate. I am looking forward to team up with her in the Fed Cup,'' she said.

About Bhambri, Sania said, ''She is of my age. She is also a great player. On a given day, any of us can beat the other''.

To a question, Sania said she did not accord as much importance to ranking as performance of a player on a particular day.