Female tennis star Sania Mirza has been confronted by an infatuated young Indian man at her home, who threatened to commit suicide if she did not marry him. Mohammad Ashraf also demanded her impending engagement to family friend Sohrab Mirza be cancelled.

It was Sania Mirza’s father, Imran Mirza, who alerted police to Mr Ashraf’s tendencies. Mr Ashraf has reportedly been stalking Sania, who is a regular on the WTA tour and ranked 85 in the world, for two years, bombarding her with text messages. Ashraf, a civil engineer in his native Bangalore, exclaimed to Imran Mirza, ‘How can you engage Sania to another person when she was born for me?’.

Under the mentorship of Indian tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania has excelled in doubles competitions. Mirza clinched her maiden Grand Slam victory at the Australian open in January, when she and Bhupathi defeated Nathalie Dechy and Andy Ram in the final. Her longest run in Grand Slam singles events came in 2005, when she reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open.