CHENNAI: For all intents and purposes, 2016 has not been an easy year for Leander Paes, whose season ended late last week. After two-and-a-half decades of playing, some wondered if his 43-year-old body was to blame. His ranking plummeted, hitting 64 at one point — the lowest in 15 years. He failed to win a Tour-level title for the first time since 1996. Was it time to hang up the ol’ boots?
Paes, however, immersed himself in hard work. He even played eight Challengers — the last time he played more than one was in 2000 — to get matches under his belt. In the process, he unearthed a couple of nuggets that made the season count. An 18th Major at the French Open meant he completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles and a seventh Olympic appearance helped him extend the record.
“One of my targets was chasing down that elusive French mixed trophy. Becoming just the third man, after Mark (Woodforde) and Todd (Woodbridge), to win all four in men’s and mixed is such a confidence booster. The Olympics didn’t go as well as I would have liked but extending the tennis mark was important to me,” Paes, who will resume training in a few weeks, tells Express.
Ranked 56 in the world, he could’ve won Winston-Salem and St Petersburg or posted better results at the US Open, but that didn’t happen. To overcome such barriers, he reckons he needs the right partner.
“The main goal right now is finding a good partner. The thirst to achieve at the Grand Slam stage continues to drive me. Twenty Slams is something I’ve set my mind to.”
Some of Paes’ greatest battles have come in Davis Cup singles against more fancied opponents. There have been sublime wins over French Open runner-up Henri Leconte, Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic and World No 6 Wayne Ferreira followed by heartbreaking losses to US Open finalist Greg Rusedski and No 4 Jonas Bjorkman. Nonetheless, Paes is on the cusp of yet another record — he is tied with Nicola Pietrangeli on 42 doubles wins. With Pune set to host the next tie, he’s looking to make that mark his own.
“Davis Cup is something I’ve always lived for. I love playing for the flag, so much so that it has been one of the highlights of my career. To perform continuously is not an easy task, but Nicola’s record is a big one and my concentration will be fully on that,” the 1996 Olympic bronze medallist adds.
Having partnered Ramkumar Ramanathan in the Pune Challenger and Saketh Myneni in Davis Cup, Paes says he loves supporting Indian tourneys and talent but feels the gulf in the respective rankings prevents him from joining hands with an under-30 countryman on Tour.
“The reason I started playing with Mahesh (Bhupathi) was because there was something special about being an all-Indian team. Plus, the last time I played a Challenger in India was 20 years ago (at Ahmedabad in December 1997 with Nitten Kirrtane). During my first round in Pune, the scoreboard showed four Indian flags. That was such a wonderful feeling. Unfortunately, it’s hard to do that on Tour because one needs a imilarly-ranked partner to enter ATP events.”
As a kid, Paes would’ ve probably been happy if someone told him he’d win a Slam oneday, but now, when he looks back at his body of work, which continues to expand, he’s almost speechless. “It’s truly humbling. I’ve been blessed,” he signs off.
rohan@newindianexpress.com