A second successive French Open doubles title eluded Leander Paes as the Indian ace and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy lost the final to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in straight sets.
In line for a second successive title, the defending champions ran out of steam and lost 5-7, 2-6 to their second seeded opponents Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in a 65-minute contest at Roland Garros here.
The third seeded Indo-Czech duo failed to convert the two breakpoints that came their way in comparison to their rivals who converted three of the four breakpoints that they earned.
“It has been a great two weeks and I'm happy to be in the finals for the second successive time. I would like to thank Lukas for making it happen and sticking with me,” said Paes, who won the title in 1999 and 2001 (both with Mahesh Bhupathi) and then with Dlouhy in 2009.
Dlouhy, on his part, credited the opponents for playing terrific tennis and said hopefully next year they would regain the title.
“They were just too good. Hopefully me and Leander will play some more tournaments in the future and regain the title next year,” Dlouhy said.
Paes already has six men's doubles and five mixed doubles Grand Slam crowns in his pocket, same as his estranged partner Bhupathi.
