Tennis players mature with age and that was clearly seen in the experience of India’s Leander Paes as he becomes the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup. In the process he made his fellow singles players to work harder in the reverse singles matches and helped India to a 3-2 win over China. The victory was achieved after losing the first two matches in a shocking way to Chinese opponent. This is the fifth time in a row that Indian Tennis team is securing a place in the World Group Playoffs. Paes and Rohan Bopanna combined together well to beat the Chinese doubles pair in a tight rubber and helped Team India to stay in the game. It was left to the youngsters to do the rest and win one more time after being 0-2 down. It is only for the second time in the history of Davis Cup, to make a forceful comeback and win a tie. Now, Leander Paes is leading in the chart of most doubles wins in Davis Cup with 43 wins, which is an enviable record for a 44-year-old veteran. He is having rare records in doubles including a 24 streak doubles win with the present captain Mahesh Bhupathi in doubles matches. Leander Paes is now leading light in doubles and would like to go for a couple of years in doubles before calling it a day. Kudos to Leander Paes as he made India proud and helped the side to remain in contention with stupendous court play and passing shots.
Nickhil Mani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
