Multiple Grand Slam champion Leander Paes won the doubles title with Sam Groth of Australia, the top seeds beating second-seeded Ratiwatana twins, Sanchai and Sonchat of Thailand, in the final of the $100,000 Challenger tennis tournament on Sunday.
The 42-year-old Leander Paes won his first Challenger doubles crown after 2000. His first triumph of the season was also his 17th Challenger doubles title, and 71st doubles title in all. Paes has won 11 Challenger singles titles apart from a Tour event. His previous Challenger singles honours also came in 2000.
Interestingly, Paes had won at least one Tour doubles title every year since 1997, a streak that ended last year. Even though he is scheduled to play another $100,000 Challenger next week, with the same partner in Seoul, the 57th-ranked Paes should soon be getting back to the big league of Tour events and Grand Slams, in his bid to be ready for his seventh Olympics at Rio.
Dozen singles crowns Ramkumar Ramanathan won the singles title in the $10,000 ITF Futures tournament in Lleida (Spain), defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 7-6(10), 6-2.
It was double delight for the 21-year-old who had won the doubles on Saturday. It was the 12th singles and 14th doubles career crown for Ramkumar.
The 239th-ranked Ramkumar, who will play the $50,000 Samarkand Challenger next week in Uzbekistan, will begin against a qualifier. He has not entered the doubles event.
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will be the third seed in doubles in the Samarkand Challenger with partner Riccardo Ghedin of Italy.
The results:
$100,000 Challenger men, Busan, Korea: Doubles (final): Leander Paes & Sam Groth (Aus) bt Sanchai Ratiwatana & Sonchat Ratiwatana (Tha) 4-6, 6-1, [10-7].
$10,000 ITF men, Lleida, Spain: Singles (final): Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can) 7-6(10), 6-2.
€64,000 Challenger men, Heilbronn, Germany: Qualifying singles (first round): Sumit Nagal bt Oscar Otte (Ger) 6-3, 6-2.
