Indian teenager Sania Mirza, a burgeoning superstar in her home country, extended her rapidly-expanding reputation at Wimbledon on Monday with a hard-fought 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 first round win against Japan's Akiko Morigami. The 18-year-old Indian shot to fame after winning her country's first-ever women's tour title earlier this year in her home city of Hyderabad.
She also became the first Indian woman to make the third round of a Grand Slam when she clinched two wins at the Australian Open in January and on Monday she scored a famous victory on her Wimbledon debut.
Mirza blasted Morigami - at 71, ranked only four places above the teenager, but with vastly more experience - all around the court in a quick first set, despite her minimal previous grass court play.
But the 25-year-old Japanese player fought back, edging a narrow second set and initially looking a more likely winner in the third as Mirza gifted Morigami a series of points with unforced errors.
But in a see-saw final set, Mirza sent her opponent running all over the court again to eventually clinch the match.