DAYS BEFORE Sania Mirza left India to try her luck on the Wimbledon greens, India’s top tennis player visited Mecca with her family. She had already squandered the French Open because of a wrist operation. In addition, she had lost a small but significant privilege: her security cover was withdrawn by a miffed Hyderabad Police, following allegations of non-payment. That’s what it means to be Sania Mirza.

Sports cognoscenti didn’t pay much heed to the news of the security cover withdrawal but they wonder — and worry — about where India’s big tennis hope is headed after her crushing defeats, both in the Wimbledon singles and the mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi, in spite of her having a near home crowd advantage and her new emphasis on wrist play.

Her fans, said a posting on the official Wimbledon website, even scaled some scaffolding and the match had to be stopped while they were called down. “It’s always like that at Wimbledon, at least in my experience. There’s always a lot of Indians here; we’re lucky to get that level of support,” Mirza told the website.

With her 32nd seed slot, this is the first time she has been within touching distance of the grand slam championship, but Mirza proceeded to disappoint her fans with her loss 0-6, 6-4, 7- 9 to Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who is ranked 101 on the circuit. “She is under a lot of pressure, especially in an Olympic year,” explains former Indian Davis Cup captain and Star Sports commentator Vijay Amritraj. Adds his partner on the show, Alan Wilkins: “I do not know what she is aiming at and for what she is preserving her best. But it is increasingly becoming tough for Mirza.”

No one is sweeping her off the courts immediately, but her tennis has actually worsened. She’s had a series of early-round exits and many watchers are wondering how long will she last.

Mirza returned to the ATP tour a fortnight ago, after a three-month absence following surgery on her right wrist. That, and a niggling back problem, are both crucial issues for Mirza, who, critics say, is struggling to find her rhythm. For instance, in the match against Sanchez, she virtually gift-wrapped the first set, and double faulted again in the second set, before handing over the game. “And that is making her fight back in almost every match,” adds Wilkins.

So where is the new wrist, and where is the new start for the number 32 seed? Before Wimbledon began, Sania was confident that the reconstructive surgery on her right hand — the playing one — would help her stand up to the rigours of fast tennis on grass. In the doubles, she and her American partner Bethanie Mattek, seeded 13, have set up a quarterfinal clash with Venus and Serena Williams, after getting past the Uzbek-Belarussian pair of Akgul Amanmuradova and Darya Kustova. That is, perhaps, the only silver lining for Mirza at the moment, who has entered the doubles quarters for the first time.

But the 21-year-old’s rollercoaster career is under tremendous pressure in a world tennis that is witnessing fashion statements, brute force victories, wear and tear and burnouts by age 24. Creating a few serious waves across the world means little.

Her peers say Mirza’s challenge is huge because the wins are not coming — the last worthwhile mention was her making it to the finals of the Australian Open mixed doubles this year and three smaller mixed doubles wins. In fact, her off-court controversies have generated more news than her game. Opposition to her on-court attire, dubbed skimpy by fundamentalist groups, and a court case against her for allegedly disrespecting the national flag were a couple of unwanted issues she’s been forced to grapple with since turning pro three years ago.

Tired of the controversies, she had decided against playing on Indian courts altogether, a decision she is now willing to reconsider. “I just think they’ve made me grow up a lot more, but I don’t think they’ve left any scars. I think it’s all been an experience, some good, some bad. But I’ve come through it and that’s the most important thing,” she told reporters after her first round victory at Wimbledon.

But it’s the lack of wins that is critical — and they are not happening. “She is past an age when she can say she is enjoying the experience,” says Jaideep Mukherjea, a former Davis Cup player for India.

He is right. In world tennis, the leading figures are in the news for all the right, and some of the wrong, reasons. Their dynamic strokes make their game and their stories as passionate, dramatic and compelling as their rivalries. That’s called point building in the curriculum vitae and they all seem to be having what it takes: French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, who is called the world’s best advertising machine, Anna Chakvetadze who dazzles the world with her thoughtful, nimble and logical tennis and, of course, the Williams sisters

Faced with such opposition, Mirza’s uphill climb appears to be almost Himalyan.

That does not mean that India’s best female player in decades should sink into despair and lock up her ambitions. It’s just that the world is worried about her erratic opening spells, and perhaps, she too should be concerned about this.

Mirza, however, appears unfazed. She had fully recovered from the surgery and continues to answer queries from reporters through e-mails. What she now needs is to get a mental advantage going