"I've never played at senior level in Japan, but I've been to Osaka twice and to Nagoya twice in the juniors. I've always played well in Japan. I'm looking forward to a great week," said Mirza.

The 18-year-old, who won the Japan Open junior doubles title in 2003, will take on qualifier Vilmarie Castellvi of Puerto Rico, the 2-6,

7-6, 6-3 winner over American Ashley Harkleroad on Monday.

Last year, Mirza became the first woman from India to capture a WTA Tour title, winning the doubles on home turf at Hyderabad.

She became the first Indian woman to reach the third round in her grand slam debut at the Australian Open in January this year and posted her first singles title, again at Hyderabad, the following month.

In her US Open debut, Mirza reached the fourth round to move up to her highest ever ranking of 34th in the world last month.

Mirza, ranked 37th this week, said her successful results were "just a matter of time" and had happened sooner than she had expected.

"I got the opportunities and I just grabbed them with both hands. I played some good tennis when it really mattered," she said.

Mirza said her feet remained firmly on the ground despite being the most famous sportswoman in India.

"Everytime I step on court, I'm not thinking about making history. I'm there because I want to be there, give my best and play for my country.

"I just hope that five or six years from now, we will have a lot more women tennis players from India. It's really nice that people are taking an interest in tennis especially when we come from a cricketing country," she said.