`Best team in the world’ now seek to dominate doubles circuit

The twin successes at Roland Garros and Wimbledon not only reveal Eltingh’s skills as a clairvoyant; they also vindicate the Indian pair’s belief in themselves.

So, when Paes, speaking to Providence Journal, a local paper in Newport where he is currently playing, said, “our goal is to dominate the doubles circuit,” it could only be a sign of things to come.

But for now, it is their performances in the past one month that is drawing attention from the international media.

Paes is the ATP Tour Player of the Week, thanks to his two titles at Wimbledon, and has drawn a tribute at the Tour’s official website. Headlined “Leander, the IndianExpress,” it traces Paes’ past struggles, and provides a factfile. A sample: “Paes became famous by winning the Olympic bronze in Atlanta in 1996. This event was the turning point of his tennis career.”

The second best tribute comes from the BBC website, which carries a picture of the duo with the caption, “the best team in the world”.

The media glare has followed Paes to the Hall of Fame championships at Newport. One reporter from the Associated Press even hinted that the Rhode Island event was too small a tournament to be hosting a player of the stature of Paes. “Though his doubles victories at Wimbledon and French Open have brought him increasing fame and fortune, Paes said he is playing in Newport because the place has charisma.”

Even his first round win at Newport made top copy, partly because he is the defending champion, but largely due to the Grand Slam wins. “Defending champion Leander Paes of India showed no letdown from his Wimbledon success,” began a Yahoo story. The CNN SportsIllustrated put out a picture captioned “Singular Sensation” and the story of his first round win over Nenad Zimjonic was headlined, “Paes wins his first match on familiar turf.”

All this coverage has caused R Jayakrishnan, designer and tireless host of the Leander Paes homepage, to remark: “Leander Paes is definitely the most talked-about tennis player never to have crossed top 75 in singles.”

Jayakrishnan continues, “An agency report included Paes’ first round doubles win result it is the first time an early round doubles result has been carried in an agency daily report from any US tournament (since Agassi played doubles in the Las Vegas Challenger).”

The sudden attention coincides with the pair’s rising fortunes. Paes and Bhupathi are respectively 18 and 22 in the ATP prize money rankings for this year. Paes has earned $ 3,85,000 in the past 30 days, the amount he cumulatively earned in the first six years of his career. This year, Paes has $ 4,54,325 while Bhupathi has $ 4,15,469, takingtheir respective career earning past $ 2 million and $ 1.5 million.

What the top doubles players say

Source — Hindu website