I don't think I want to set a goal for myself: Sania

Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza, who recently won her 10th WTA doubles title, on Tuesday said she has stopped setting goals for herself as far as ranking was concerned, fearing that it may lead to another injury.

Sania, who won the doubles title in the Indian Wells event with Russia's Elena Vesnina, said every time she set a goal for herself, she ended up getting an injury.

Sania, who got back into the top-100 in singles after the Indian Wells event, said she is happy to play competitive tennis and that she dares not think about rankings now.

"For me to comeback to competitive tennis is a bonus. I never really thought I would be back playing. You know how bad my wrist was. Being out for 5-6 months last year was difficult mentally. I enjoy playing and obviously winning. But every time I set a goal for ranking, I get injured. I am getting a little superstitious. I don't think I want to set a goal," Sania said.

"I don't think it (ranking) has anything to do with Sania Mirza. Today whether it is tennis or any global sport literally anyone can beat anyone on that given day. I don't think anyone could have imagined (Roger Federer) losing twice in a day. He lost his singles and doubles on Monday. Tennis is like that. So, rankings have nothing to do with that."

Sania said playing doubles has helped in improving her singles game and, after tasting success at Indian Wells, she and Elena are determined to play together for a long period. "In order to be a good doubles player, you need to be good at other things like net play and serve better. With this type of format where there is a super-tiebreaker, it can really slip either ways."

"It is improving my singles as well. I always played good doubles, won a few smaller events. This is probably the highest after the Grand Slam that you can win. I always enjoyed playing doubles, especially with Elena. I think our partnership can go far," she told espnstar.com.

Sania, who is now on 99th spot in singles ranking and 33rd in doubles, also praised Somdev Devvarman for putting up a gritty show at Indian Wells, where he reached the fourth round before lost to world number one Rafael Nadal.

"I saw a few games when he was playing (Rafael) Nadal. I did see that. Before that I couldn't as our schedules were kind of similar. I was playing around the same time. It is great that India finally has a male player who can play singles at Davis Cup. I am happy that I am there in women's and Somdev in men's. I hope a lot of people take inspiration from this," she said.