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Mahesh Bhupati becomes first Indian to enter Grand Slam mixed doubles final

Indian Davis Cupper Mahesh Bhupati, for long in the shadow of the more illustrious Leander Paes, claimed a spot in the sunlight for himself when he became the first Indian tennis player to enter a Grand Slam mixed doubles final, teaming up with Japan's Rika Hiraki to defeat the experienced brother-sister combination of Helena Sukova and Cyril Suk.

The Hiraki-Bhupati win was unexpected, the more so as they are seeded 16th to the opponents' seeding of number four.

The Madras-born Bhupati, who will be 23 this Saturday, will now team up with his partner, who he had not met before this tournament, to take on top seeds Lisay Raymond and Patrick Galbraith of the United States in the final.

"It is exciting, being in a Grand Slam final. We never thought we would get this far, we just took it match by match. And in that sense, the final is one more match - we hope to go out there and do our best," Bhupati said.

His partner was more enthusiastic. Two years older than Bhupati, Hiraki - a member of Japan's Davis Cup contingent - said she was delighted with the result, more so as she had lost in the first round in the singles. In fact, this is her fifth first round defeat in five visits to Roland Garros.

"It's a real surprise we got this far, Mahesh and I haven't played with each other before. We know it is going to be tough - we just want to try our best, and to enjoy the game."