Sania-Paes to play in Asian Hopman Cup

Indian tennis superstars Sania Mirza and Leander Paes will pair up for the six-nation USD 70,000 Asian Hopman Cup to be held here from November 22-26.

Sania said it was "exciting" to be a part of the Indian team alongside Paes but she was prepared for a tough competition at home turf.

"It's good that the event is happening in India, more so in Hyderabad. Although we have the support of the home crowd, it would be tough competition and we will try to give our best."

About her partnership with Paes, she said "it all depends on the schedule and we really did not talk about it. A couple of days' practice before the session would do a lot good."

China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Uzbekistan besides hosts India would take part in the tournament which has a man and a woman player from each country and play two singles and one doubles match.

"China and Chinese Taipei have very good players and its not going to be a very easy tournament. The lowest rank of the players could be somewhere between 75 and 80," she said.

The winner would get USD 20,000 and runners up would pocket USD 12,000 while victory of Indian team shall place it at par with seven best nations in tennis in the main event to be held at Perth in Australia in January 2007.