KEY POINTS:
Glamour girl Sania Mirza is thriving on being a role model and says she is seeing a boom in tennis in cricket-mad India.
Adored by millions in her home country, world No 53 Mirza fought her way into the second round yesterday with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Ukraine's Olga Savchuk.
The expectations from her compatriots are nothing new for the confident right-hander with the diamond-studded nose-ring, who has already proved she is capable of holding her nerve.
Mirza, as a successful, independent teenager and a Muslim, has become an idol for young women in India and a symbol of female empowerment.
"A lot of people are picking up tennis rackets and I just hope that five, six years from now we don't have one woman tennis player, we have a few more.
"I think it's just a matter of time before we have more players coming out at this level."
Military twist
In Israel, young people have no choice but to juggle sporting ambitions with military service.
Shahar Peer has proved adept at doing so, fulfilling her obligations while quietly climbing the world rankings to No 16.
Come November, her two-year stint in the Army will be up, and her focus will be on getting into the top 10. But rather than hindering her tennis career, she credits the Army as helping it.
"Growing up, I knew that [military service] was an important responsibility," Peer said after moving into the second round by beating Italy's Romina Oprandi 6-1, 6-3.
"Everybody has to do it, but I'm giving what I have to my country in a different way, not always in the Army but ... as an ambassador in tennis.
"The focus on fitness, on running and training helps with what I do already with my tennis, but I think it gives you a lot for your brain, and it's not only tennis, tennis, tennis.
"You see and experience a lot of other things, and these are all things that are important for life."