CHENNAI : AS Prajnesh Gunneswaran let out a bellow after helping India to a dogged come-from-behind win over China, Mahesh Bhupathi was the first to hug him. His 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Yibing Wu in the last rubber completed the mother of all escapes.The next to congratulate Gunneswaran, a late replacement for Sumit Nagal, was the soon-to-be 45-year-old Leander Paes. Words on a piece of paper will not describe the joy that was etched on his face. His smile resembled that of a 10-year-old kid at a candy store.
That in essence is what Davis Cup means to Paes. And on Saturday, the Atlanta Games bronze-medallist scaled another peak: most number of wins for a doubles player in Davis Cup history. He achieved it after a scrappy 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) win over the Chinese duo of Ze Zhang and Mao-Xin Gong. That milestone, even in isolation, is the masterpiece of Paes’ body of work. Breaking a record that has stood for 46 years is not to be sniffed at.
But the win played another important role: teaching a lesson to the younger players on how to handle hostile conditions and pressure (it was snowing in Tianjin three days ago).
Paes, who overtook Nicola Pietrangeli’s 42 wins, used it as a platform. When Rohan Bopanna and he began proceedings on Saturday, India were looking at an embarrassing defeat. They were trailing 0-2.
Things were not looking rosy as China came incredibly close a couple of times. At one point, Paes was serving 5-6 and 0-30 in the third set. But he found a way and kept the tie alive. After it (India will advance to the World Group playoffs for a fifth consecutive time), Paes dedicated the win to whole of India. “It’s been a great journey. I dedicate this record to my parents, my daughter Ayana and to every Davis Cup partner... this is for all of India.”
He also thanked his first captain Naresh Kumar for placing his trust in a then unknown 16-year-old in a tie against Japan in 1990. “I first played in the Davis Cup thanks to him.” Over the last 28 years, Paes has been at the forefront of some of the mst arresting Indian tennis stories. His latest screenplay wasn’t too shabby either.In fact, coach Zeeshan Ali he played a crucial off-field role as well. “There was a round-table meeting last night (Friday),” Ali told Express from Tianjin. “The other three (Rohan, Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi) and myself are veterans, and we brought to the table a lot of experience. There were a few words exchanged at the meeting and Leander contributed during it as well.”
AITA selection committee member Nandan Bal sang from the same hymn sheet. “I had confidence even on Friday night that we would win. Paes and Bopanna played their part in keeping the tie alive, even if they kind of struggled.”But Bal was tight-lipped when asked whether AITA would have a conversation with Paes about his place in the side, now that he has reached the record. “(Laughter)... we have won from 0-2 down. That man has just done something that we are incredibly proud of. Let’s leave it at that at the moment.”
swaroop@newindianexpress.com