Paes-Hingis unbeaten at Wimbledon

July 13, 2015 18:37
Paes-Hingis unbeaten at Wimbledon

Leander Paes of India has won the mixed-doubles title at Wimbledon along with Martina Hingis to give him 16 Grand Slam titles in his career, eight in men’s doubles and eight in mixed. Tennis ace Leander Paes is once again at his vintage best as he partnered Martina Hingis to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles title. The pair beat fifth seed Austrian-Hungarian duo of Alexander Peya and Timea Babos 6-1, 6-1 in a match that lasted only 40 minutes.

Paes has won Grand Slams with four different male partners, starting with the French Open and Wimbledon with Mahesh Bhupathi in 1999. Success came to him when he partnered with Martin Damm, Lukas Dlouhy and Radek Stepanek. Paes is strongly linked with Bhupathi and Stepanek.

Paes had 24 partners in mixed doubles, winning Grand Slam titles with four of them, Lisa Raymond, Martina Navratilova, Cara Black and Martina Hingis.

Paes has proven over the years that he has the ability to get along with players from diverse backgrounds and ages. Raymond was 25 when she won Wimbledon with Paes in 1999 and Navratilova was 47 when she and Paes won Wimbledon.

Paes has a knack for making his partners feel like a million bucks. Hingis has repeatedly mentioned that she feels invincible on court with Paes by her side. “Leander has been there and done that before. He has given me a lot of confidence and we have a great chemistry,” Hingis said after winning the Australian Open. "I think last night and today was just amazing, the emotions," Hingis said, "The chemistry we had today, It was incredible."    

"Coming out and playing like that on one of the most prestigious courts that we've grown up with and winning a title like that, again for the second time in a Grand Slam without losing a set, that is really special," he said after the Wimbledon crown.

Paes said after winning the Australian Open mixed doubles with, “If you know yourself really well and you're honest with yourself about your strengths and more importantly your weaknesses, then you choose a partner whose strengths are your weaknesses.”

"Australia was something brand new, something fresh, because it was the first time we were playing in a Grand Slam together," he said on his partner. "We played World Team Tennis for a couple of years and we're undefeated there. But to come and do it at Wimbledon is something really special. Everyone knows what Martina's achieved over the years at Wimbledon. To come out there and do it back-to-back, the physical and mental effort that it takes to win two titles in the same week, is something really, really special." "This trophy is for India," he told in an interview. "To represent the flag and my country is something I take very seriously."

By Premji

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