MIAMI, where the stars dazzle under a moonlit sky and the sea waves whip up a fantasy. An urgent nudge from a fellow journalist from Panama woke me from my reverie. Not that I could complain. There was in the flesh, Anna Kournikova, the perennial glamour girl of tennis in a little black dress, flushed with dancing, blond hair flying in the cool breeze as she gasped for “my Bombay Sapphire”! The drama had just about begun to unfold at the hip nightclub, Opium, the venue of glitz, glamour and sexy backs.

The night rocked as Serena and Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Daniela Hantuchova danced in their stilettos and bare essentials.

And the men - Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - were definitely bootilicious as they jived to the beats of celebrity DJ Bob Sinclar in their low slung jeans.

I was getting a ringside view of the Sony Ericsson Open and Miami was just the right place to mix business with pleasure.

The tour was a rollercoaster ride - packed with a pee-ka-boo of the gorgeous Nadal changing into his tee in the men’s locker room, to an access to the VIP lounge, from a Venus William’s fashion show where she walked the ramp, to a somber visit to the commentator’s box - we definitely weren’t disappointed.

Sight of a ponytailed Roger Federer, his Wilson bag swaying from his lanky shoulder, as he swaggered past was a treat to the eyes. He was off to practice with fellow player James Blake inside Crandon Park, venue for the tournament.

And… surprise of the tour! The reverance of the fans didn’t translate into autograph seekers or hands pushed out at the player for a handshake. Quite unlike if a Dhoni or Tendulkar were to walk by back home. It was the same outside the VIP lounge where top stars like V e n u s Williams and Justine Henin waited for their Mercs and stretch Hummers as casually as they would in their bougainvilleashaded terraces. Can a Sania Mirza do the same in India? One doubts it. Being up close with the players had its benefits. Like getting to see Leander Paes hanging around the VIP lounge in his bathroom slippers and pyjamas talking tennis with the players’ wives in their straw hats and designer tote bags, there to catch one of the big league matches. There was a definite buzz regarding Sania too. “Sania is a strong woman. Hats off to her for standing by her beliefs,” said Serena Williams.

Off the court and the microphone, the glam girls could finally be what they really are - girls! They talked, amidst giggles, about the string of beach houses and villas they possessed, incalculable designer dresses and watches, and stacks of shoes that they can’t keep track of! Maria Sharapova revealed how tired she was living out of suitcases and how she longed to clean up her home and cook a hearty meal.

Proximity to these tennis stars surely showed me that there’s “something special” that seems to rub off from the persona of players like Federer, Henin and the Williams’ sisters.