A dream come true: Sania Mirza

January 25: In the title round of the mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza stand the chance of becoming the first all-Indian duo to win a mixed doubles Grand Slam title. The duo will take on China's Tiantian Sun and Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic, who defeated Zi Yan and Mark Knowles 4-6, 7-5, 10-6 in the other semi-finals.

The 21-year-old Sania, who has been playing on an injured leg for the last few days, said, "I'm excited to be playing in my first Grand Slam final. It's a dream come true. Mahesh and I started playing together at the Grand Slams at Wimbledon last year and we have been improving with every outing. I think he is one of the greatest doubles players and it is a privilege to partner him. His comeback from surgery has been amazing. He's hungry for success."

Sania's father Imran, who also doubles up as her coach, explained his daughter's injury: "Sania has an inflamed upper hamstring on the left leg. She got injured during her singles match against Venus Williams. She needs rest, but this is a Grand Slam final. She is willing to play on one leg if the situation demands. She is very determined and I'm hoping that the 48 hours rest before the final will help."

If Sania's looking for a little push for her bruised body she need not look beyond her partner, who has surprised his doctor, physio and trainer with what he has done in the last fortnight.

"My doctor Greg Mallham has been coming to watch the matches here and he is surprised by my progress. I was expecting to peak in the summer, I guess that is when I will really peak, but the body feels good now," Bhupathi said. "I never thought that I would be here playing the final, the goal was to get ready for the Australian Open and I worked very hard to be here."