`Indian Express’ back to old habits

It was the first time a Japanese title had gone to India since Ramesh Krishnan won the men’s singles in 1986. “The first thing I’d like to say is, I think that The Indian Express is rolling again and I’m happy we played some good tennis on Sunday,” said Paes.

“Jeff and Michael played really a good match. They returned well and it made it a lot more difficult for us, but the level of tennis was the highest of all this week and I’m happy with it.

“In the third set, we managed to have a good break at 3-4 and I have to say that this tournament gives us a lot of confidence.”Paes and Bhupathi had their finest season last year, coming the first team to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams in the same year since Frank Sedgman and Ken McGregor in 1952.

They reached No 1 ranking in April and finished the year on the same level. But since then Paes and Bhupathi have been struggling with injuries, playing only five tournaments this season. “This year, we both had a lot of injuries, so it makes it much more special winning the Japan Open, it was the first one back together again since we are both in good health,” said Paes.

The pair are one of the most popular partnerships in the game and have been surrounded by fans throughout the week. Bhupathi won the 1997 French Open mixed doubles title with Japan’s Rika Hiraki and the US Open with Ai Sugiyama last year. In the men’s singles final, 12th seed Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands defeated fourth-seeded Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, while In the women’s singles doubles World No 1 Julie Halard-Decugis saved three match points before beating defending champion and unseeded Amy Frazier 5-7 7-5 6-4.