02 February,2009 12:53 PM IST | | A Correspondent
Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi arrived at the Mumbai International Airport today amidst much fanfare. The duo won the Australian Open mixed doubles title on Sunday and were received with garlands and bouquets on their arrival.
Bhupathi was obviously exhausted after a fortnight-long battle for two titles in Melbourne. He and partner Mark Knowles lost the men's doubles final but made it up with the mixed-doubles winu00a0- Bhupathi's 11th grand slam title and Sania's first.
"Very excited and just happy to come home to get some rest," Bhupathi told reporters. Sania, on the other hand, had a tough time in her other draws. Losing in the singles and doubles second round. But the Hyderabadi was delighted to win her first major title.
"Obviously very special to win your first grand slam. It was made more special because what had happened in the last five-six months," said Sania who returned from a long injury lay-off and tasted success in her first event of the year.
She added, "It's a great way to comeback. It's the first tournament of the year, so it's great. The plan is to just... I'm just living in the moment. I'm happy to win this grand slam and I'll see what happens next."
