Nottingham, June 25
India's tennis legend
Leander Paes added another feather to his cap when he reached the
milestone of playing with 100 doubles partners when he featured
alongside Spaniard Marcel Granollers at the Aegon Open.
He and Granollers registered a 3-6, 6-2, 11-9 victory over Treat Huey and Scott Lipsky in their opening match here on Wednesday.
The
former World No.1 became the 47th player to reach a century of doubles
partners, but the first member of the club to have amassed more than 50
titles and 700 match victories. He became just the eighth player to
notch 700 match wins with victory in the French Open first-round match
last month.
Granollers is the 100th partner of Paes' career, combining the Challenger and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour.
One
of the greatest of doubles players all time, Paes said playing with
athletes of varying personality and constantly adapting to their
temperament is a challenge, but he relishes it.
"It means I've
had a very long career. It's quite intriguing in an individual sport
like tennis to have actually had that many doubles partners. I always
try to learn new tricks and keep reinventing myself," Paes told
ATPWorldTour.com on Wednesday.
"Having new partners, I try to
incorporate these in our practice sessions. Perhaps they want to learn
from my volleys or movement at net or I want to learn from their
baseline game or their return game. It's been a very blessed journey to
go through 25 years and 100 partners."
A crafty and fiery player
on the court boasting world-class agility and net presence, the Calcutta
native said he employs a lot of thought in selecting his partners,
keeping an eye on the strengths and weaknesses of individuals.
"I
put a lot of homework into choosing a partner, because I like to choose
someone whose skill set is my weaknesses and my skill set is their
weaknesses. Whether it was a Martin Damm, who has a big serve and an
excellent backhand return or a Radek Stepanek who has an all-court game.
Mahesh Bhupathi was mostly a baseliner and then his volleys improved
down the track. David Rikl too," said the veteran, who turned 42 last
week.
"There were so many different partners with different skill
sets and I'd learn from their strengths, so we complement each other as
a team. With all the moving variables that you get to learn a lot about
the partnership, I've been very good at understanding the strengths and
weaknesses of a human being and what I focus on is adapting myself."
A
former World No. 1 in the doubles rankings, Paes is the sixth active
member of the "100 Partners Club", with Frank Moser (144), Andre Sa
(119), Olivier Marach (109), Carlos Berlocq (104) and James Cerretani
(104). He is currently 24th on the list.
Throughout his 25-year
career he has also kept a keen eye on his potential partner's life
outside the courts and insisted personal camaraderie is as important as
complimenting each other's skills set in forming a successful doubles
team.
"Chemistry is a pre-requisite. I choose partners who are
hard-working but laid back; partners who are not only students of the
game but are students of life. To have someone who is laid back and can
laugh at themselves and we can go to the movies together, grab a meal
and talk about something other than tennis is important," he added.
"The
majority of the time with these 100 partners I've led the team, but off
the court I look to build the chemistry. When you're on the court
handling the stressful situations, you need to know that your partner
has your back."
Paes said: "Making someone feel comfortable on
the court is something I've been blessed with. The best partnerships are
the ones where there is a lot of give and take, where there is good
communication and chemistry other than the tennis skill set."
