Indian tennis veteran Leander Paes became only the 24th player in the ATP World Tour history to win 50 doubles titles after he and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek clinched the Sony Ericsson Open, their second team trophy of the season, here.
The 38-year-old also Paes and Stepanek, who were seeded seventh, rallied to upstage second seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 3-6 6-1 10-8 on Saturday.
After dropping the first set, the Australian Open champions broke Mirnyi and Nestor twice in the second set to force a match tie-break.
The Indo-Czech combination trailed 1-4 before winning six straight points to surge ahead. Stepanek closed out the victory with an unreturnable volley to clinch the win in 82 minutes.
“Well actually Radek came to me and said something simple on my service return (in the second set) and that changed the whole momentum of the match. I have got to give full credit to Daniel and Max, they started out amazingly, they were all over us in the first set,” a jubilant Paes said after the triumph.
“Over all these years of playing, I have got to thank many partners, I have got to thank many coaches... I have to thank my father but most importantly my wonderful partner right now, Radek Stepanek,” he added.
Paes, who did little celebratory jig with Stepanek after the match, collected his third straight crown at Crandon Park, having triumphed with Lukas Dlouhy in 2010 and Mahesh Bhupathi in 2011.
Keywords: ATP World Tour, Leander Paes, Radek Stepanek
I think Leander will be remembered as the greatest non Cricketer of India along with V.Anand.
Victory does not come easy othe world stage particularly in a game like tennis that has more nations playing than cricket. What Leander has achieved bears testimony to his fine sense of understanding, anticipation, reflexes in addition to his natural talent and zeal. That he has been an icon in Indian tennis is an euphemism. That he is a national hero is more apt. Kudos to Leander.
Well done Leander and partner.
Pares seems to be an evergreen player. His exploits on the tennis court prove that one is young or old as one thinks.
Leander's touching the landmark of 50 doubles titles in a highly competitive sport played the world over would rank higher than Sachin's hundredth ton in a game played by barely a dozen colonial cousins. Hope the media and the nation celebrates this singular achievement befittingly as well. The break up of the 50 doubles titles would speak volumes about the quality of the opposition encountered. Surely the wins would not have come in challengers tournaments played by players trying to garner ATP points for entering the elite group of top 200 players to gain direct entry into the World tour events. This tally would exclude the numerous Davis Cupt wins won for the country. Only now tennis has become a popular sport with youngsters trying to make a mark at the grass root level and improved infrastructure available in the country.
what a fine tennis being played by the outstanding Indian tennis star Leander Peas in the world tennis arena at this odd age.
His mantra for success is fitness with hard work and discipline contributing to his perseverance, it is his love and dedication for the game that has not only been a sustaining but also an important motivating factor enabling him to come this far and achieve something spectacular in his career. Well done! Keep it up Leander!
Congrats! Leander! Truly a laudable achievement. May this only be the beginning, and not the end, of better, brighter and greater things yet to come.
I could see really a warrior from India ,the whole country should be proud of Leander for his achievements .He played tennis for a long time without much support and motivation from other players .Tennis is a game which is not respected in India even now,because it needs a lot of hard work and determination.People want success without hard work.Persons like me want to see India produce high class tennis stars to be proud of.
Well done Leander.. Lord bless you mate!
BRAVO Leander.Courage,Selfconfidence and Perseverence-the hallmark of the Maestro who won so many titles -in Doubles as well as in Mixed Doubles.He has proved that Age Does Not matter if you are sure what you want and have the will power.Apart from unfortunate issues which marred a well set partnership Paes has been above all controversies and is a Very Good icon for the youngsters in India to follow.CARRY ON
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