India enhanced their chances of making it to the title round in their maiden outing at the Hopman Cup mixed team tennis competition, getting the better of Croatia 2-1 in a Group 'B' tie in Perth on Wednesday.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna won the decisive mixed doubles match against the Croatian pair of Mario Ancic and his younger sister Sanja 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10/8) in 79 minutes at the Burswood Dome.
Sania, ranked 65th in the world, attributed the victory to her ability to handle crowd pressure.
"I've played in front of big crowds before, and I think that helped me," she said.
India next meets Spain, who are represented by world No 7 Tommy Robredo and Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Earlier in the day, Sania registered a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sanja Ancic to give India the lead.
However, Mario, ranked ninth in the world, brought things on level terms by beating Bopanna in straight sets, 7-6(2) 7-6(3).
India had beaten third seeds the Czech Republic 2-1 in their opening match on Sunday.