Too much love will kill you, just as sure as none at all

When Freddie Mercury sang the lines, he did not know how apt his words would ring for Indian sports stars.

The albatross of expectation can weigh heavy around the neck of anyone who gives over a billion people a new dream. Ask Sachin Tendulkar [Images] or ask Sania Mirza [Images].

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In Kolkata to play the Sunfeast Open tournament, the 18-year-old tennis tornado is under the microscope of adulation, be it on court or off it. New demands are being made on her time every day. From an autograph-signing event to practice sessions, a million eyes are watching every move she makes.

But can it affect her game?

Mahesh Bhupathi [Images], who spotted Sania's talent first, does not think so. She is mentally very strong and is very focused, says the man who is the most successful Indian tennis player till date.

Sania's new coach John Farrington agrees. As long as off-court events do not affect her practice time, her role as an ambassador for the sport in India is fine, he thinks.

And if she is an inspiration for youngsters, it is perfectly justified if she reaches out to those who hold the promise of a better tomorrow, like Sania did when she visited two Kolkata schools.

"You cannot just take from the game. You have to give back as well. And Sania is doing a great job of it," says the Bahamas-based coach. "The key is time management. Sania's support staff is doing a great job of seeing to it that all this doesn't affect her practice time," he adds.

"I could not have asked for a better student. She listens to what you say and works on her game all the time. Obviously, she has been doing it all this while and it is not that she has started doing it overnight."

Farrington admits he is working on her serve, strategy and ball game.

"She has all the big ground strokes, and if she can attack the net a little more it will add to her game," he says.

"That is why she is playing doubles also."

Kolkata, by any yardstick, is sports-obsessed. When France [Images] and Brazil [Images] faced off in football World Cup in 1998, the city was divided into two camps. And you could make out which para [neighbourhood in Bengali] was supporting which side just by the flags on the walls.

Seven years later, the City of Joy has found a new reason beyond cricket to cheer: Sania. And you cannot tell Kolkata to maintain 'silence please' when the tennis sundari -- as the Bengali media has dubbed Sania -- is playing. The people want Sania to win every rally, every point. Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of her, never mind the near-riotous situation her every appearance goads.

On Tuesday, a family of four was desperate to see Sania when she was signing autographs in a stall inside the Netaji Indoor stadium premises. The father held up the son, not more than eight years old, so that he could catch a glimpse of the Hyderabad girl from over the big crowd that had gathered around the stall. Then, he did the same with the daughter, even younger. And after they managed to see her, the brother and sister hugged in sheer glee.

The girl in the eye of the storm is calm.

"I like it [the frenzy she evokes on court]. It motivates you to give 120 per cent," she says.

On Wednesday, Sania has two matches, almost back to back. A singles and a doubles match. "The key is to call it an early night," Sania says with characteristic nonchalance.

"Where she [Sania] will be in a couple of years' time is up to her, what goals she sets for her," says once world number 2 Anastasia Myskina [Images].

If Sania's aggression on court, which Farrington thinks is the key to her success, is any indication, Sania has set her goals high.

And for the cynics who think the hype is not really justified for a girl who has not yet entered the quarter-final of a Grand Slam tournament, Farrington has this message: "She definitely has the potential to reach the top 10 and to win Grand Slams."

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