She won’t cower at the challengeIt remains to be seen whether Mirza, whose ranking jumped from No. 206 to No. 42, can outhit or outthink Sharapova. But one thing is certain: She won’t cower at the challenge. This is a girl who showed up at a Wimbledon news conference in a T-shirt that read: ‘‘Well-behaved women rarely make history.’’Michelle Kaufman/The Miami HeraldHer game, interviews, suggest that she’s got spunkHer straight-set victory, Sania Mirza earned a fourth-round meeting with Maria Sharapova and no doubt added to the frenzy already rampant back home over her achievements. Based on her hard-slugging game, blunt interviews and sassy T-shirts, there’s nothing to suggest that the plucky Mirza will be rattled by the big stage.Liz Clarke/The Washington PostA Williams-ish parallelSania Mirza grew up in an environment that was similar, at least in terms of tennis facilities, to the Williams sisters’. ‘‘When you come out from a country like India or one of those countries, it’s obviously much tougher for you’’, Mirza said.Liz Robbins/New York TimesShe may someday steal Maria’s mantleSharapova, the tall Russian with tremendous Q-quality, will meet a personality laden 19-year-old who may someday steal her mantle in the form of Sania Mirza.Matt Cronin
