NEW DELHI, Jan 20: India discovered a new sporting star other than a Cricketer on Thursday as petite teenager Sania Mirza hit the headlines after winning two rounds of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.

The 18-year-old may only have entered the third round - where she runs into the formidable Serena Williams - but the usually cricket-obsessed Indian media celebrated as if she had won the title.

Colour pictures of the Hyderabad girl were splashed on the front and back pages of all major dailies with the Hindustan Times running a banner headline: "Game, set, match milestone."

'Super Sania' said The Times of India over a front-page picture of Mirza, while the Statesman described the ensuing euphoria as 'Sania Mania'. It was the first time an Indian woman had reached the third round of a grand slam event and the country will tune in to Mirza's clash with Williams on Friday even though few give her a realistic chance of defeating the former champion.

"My family and I will be watching the match for sure and cheer Sania on every point," said Indian Tennis Association secretary Anil Khanna. "Win or lose, she has already done the country proud."

Added college student Rakesh Verma: "The girl's a stunner. She deserves more endorsements than Anna Kournikova. Hope she gives Serena a fight." Even as Mirza's parents followed her trail from Makkah Mukkarma where they are on the Hajj pilgrimage, her first coach Narendra Nath said he could not keep his eyes off the television during Mirza's first two matches.

"A wildcard for the Australian Open was just the break she needed," Nath said. "She is a big match player and I think she will surprise a few people on Friday." Mirza, ranked 166th in the world, breezed past world number 84 Petra Mandula of Hungary in the second round on Wednesday dropping just three games. She had defeated Australian Cindy Watson in the first round.

The youngster's achievement betters the second round showing of Nirupama Vaidyanathan at Melbourne Park in 1998. India has produced several famous male tennis stars such as Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi but the world's second-most populous nation has had few female representatives in the upper echelons.

Bhupathi, whose sports management company signed Mirza last year, predicted a top-50 placing for her in the current season. "She has the game to go so far," Bhupathi said. "This could be her year to break into the big league." - AFP