Leander Paes

Leander Paes
Leander Wimbledon.jpg
Country Flag of India.svg India
Residence Calcutta and
Orlando, Florida
Date of birth June 17, 1973 (1973-06-17) (age 36)
Place of birth Goa
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+12 in)
Weight 77 kg (170 lb/12.1 st)
Turned pro 1991
Plays Right-handed; one-handed backhand
Career prize money US$4,872,869
Singles
Career record: 99–98
Career titles: 1
Highest ranking: No. 73 (August 24, 1998)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open 2rd (1997, 2000)
French Open 2rd (1997)
Wimbledon 2rd (2001)
US Open 3rd (1997)
Doubles
Career record: 495–252
Career titles: 39
Highest ranking: No. 1 (June 21, 1999)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open F (1999, 2006)
French Open W (1999, 2001)
Wimbledon W (1999)
US Open W (2006)
Major doubles tournaments
Masters Cup F (1997, 1999, 2000, 2005)
Olympic Games Fourth place (2004)
Mixed Doubles
Career record: {{{mixedrecord}}}
Career titles: {{{mixedtitles}}}
Highest ranking: {{{highestmixedranking}}}

Infobox last updated on: October 6, 2008.

Olympic medal record
Men's Tennis
Bronze 1996 Atlanta Singles

Leander Adrian Paes (born June 17, 1973) is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament. He is one of the most successful professional Indian tennis players and also the former captain of the Indian tennis team. He has won various doubles and mixed doubles events at the Tennis Grand Slam events. He is also the recipient of India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1996–1997 and the Padmashri award in 2001 for his contribution to Tennis in India.

Apart from his eight Grand Slam victories at doubles and mixed doubles events, he is famous for his several memorable Davis Cup performances playing for India and also for winning a bronze medal for India in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Also, he achieved the rare Men's Doubles/Mixed Doubles double in the 1999 Wimbledon.

Contents

Early life

Leander was born in Goa, India to Vece Paes and Jennifer Paes and raised in Calcutta, India. He was educated at La Martiniere Calcutta. His father and mother were both former Olympians. His father Vece Paes was a hockey player who represented India in the 1972 Munich Olympic games, in the hockey team that won the bronze medal. His mother captained the Indian basketball team in the 1980 Asian basketball championship. Paes enrolled with the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy in Madras in 1985 where he was coached by Dave'O'Meara. The academy played a key role in his early development. Leander shot into international fame when he won the 1990 Wimbledon Junior title and rose to No.1 in the junior world-rankings. Paes is the great grandson of the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt. Previously having dated Bollywood actress Mahima Chaudhary, he is now married to Rhea Pillai and has a daughter Aiyana Paes.

Career

Early career (1991–1997)

Paes showed promise early in his career by winning titles at the Junior US Open and the Junior Wimbledon. He turned professional in 1991.[1] He rose to the number 1 in the world in the junior rankings.[2] In 1992, he reached the quarter finals of the doubles event in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with Ramesh Krishnan.[3]

He went one better at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he beat Fernando Meligeni to win the Bronze medal, thus becoming the first Indian since KD Jadhav (Bronze in 1952 Helsinki Olympics) to win an individual medal for more than 4 decades.[4] Paes cited the match as one of his greatest performances on the court, in part because his wrist was severely injured.[5] He was awarded the highest sporting honour by the Government of India, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1996.[6] His first successful year in the ATP circuit came in 1993 when he partnered Sébastien Lareau to reach the US Open doubles semi-final. After having a moderate season in 1994 he reached the Quarter final of the 1995 Australian Open doubles with Kevin Ullyett. From 1996 he started partnering with fellow Indian Mahesh Bhupathi, which later would prove to be a winning combination. This year was not a very successful one, especially in the grand slams with a round of 32 finish at Wimbledon being the best. 1997 proved a much better year for the team of Paes and Bhupathi with the semi-finals of the US Open their best grand slam result. Paes climbed the doubles ranking from 89 at the beginning of the year to 14 at the end of the year.[7]

Rise in doubles (1998–2002)

Leander Paes and his former doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi.

The doubles team of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi grew stronger in 1998 reaching the Semi-Finals of 3 grand slams, the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. In the same year Paes had two of his biggest singles results in the ATP tour. The first one came by winning an ATP singles title at Newport and the second was beating Pete Sampras at the New Haven ATP tournament.[8][9][10][11] In the year 1999, the duo reached the finals of all the 4 grand slams winning the Wimbledon and the French Open, thus becoming the first Indian pair to win a doubles event at a Grand slam event. Paes also teamed up with Lisa Raymond to win the Mixed doubles event at Wimbledon. The year also marked his ascent to the No.1 ranking in the doubles.[12] The following year Paes partnered with Sébastien Lareau for the Australian Open and Jan Siemerink for the French losing in the first round on both occasions. Paes teamed up again with Mahesh Bhupathi for the US Open but lost in the first round again. The duo had a disappointing second round exit to Australian duo of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde at the Sydney Olympics, despite high hopes.[13] Paes was given the honour of carrying the Indian Flag at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.[14] In spite of a winning the French Open in 2001, the team of Bhupathi and Paes had 1st round exits in the other 3 grand slams. Paes was awarded the Padmashri by the Government of India in 2001.[15] The duo of Paes and Bhupathi won the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.[16] In 2002 Leander paired up with Michael Hill for a number of tournaments with moderate success.

Leander Paes and Martina Navaratilova pairing up in a Mixed doubles event

2003–present

Between 2003 and present, Paes has increasingly focused on his doubles and mixed doubles game. Leander won the Mixed doubles events at the Australian Open and Wimbledon with Martina Navaratilova, both in 2003. In the 2004 Athens Olympic games he paired up with Mahesh Bhupathi, failing again at the semi finals stage. His next Grand Slam success was in the U.S. Open doubles event in 2006. Paes lead the Indian tennis team at the Doha Asian Games in 2006 and won two golds in the Men's doubles (partnering Mahesh Bhupathi) and Mixed doubles(partnering Sania Mirza).[17][18] Paes has maintained his doubles ranking in the top 20 in the world between 2005 and 2007.[19][20] With wins in the Rotterdam and ATP Masters Series in Indian Wells, Paes has taken his doubles tally to 38, as of May 2007.[21][22][23] Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi took part in the men's doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka [24] who went on to win the men's doubles gold medal [25].

Davis Cup career

Leander Paes started his Davis Cup career in 1990 at a young age of 16, when he partnered Zeeshan Ali in the doubles to beat the Japanese team in a gruelling 5 set encounter. He is considered as one of the top Davis cup players for his country with a record of 81–30 overall as of May 2007.[26][27] He played an important role in the Indian Davis cup team that reached the world group from 1991–1998. He was part of the Indian Davis Cup team that reached the Semi-Finals of the 1993 Davis Cup with wins against Switzerland and France, eventually losing out to Australia. In singles his major wins came against Wayne Ferreira in 1994, Goran Ivanišević in 1995 when India defeated Croatia, Jan Siemerink in 1995 to defeat Netherlands, Jiří Novák in 1997.[28] In doubles his major wins include beating the French Team of Arnaud Boetsch and Henri Leconte in France with Ramesh Krishnan in 1993.[29] He teamed up with Mahesh Bhupathi to beat Hirszon and Ivanisevic of Croatia in 1995, Martin Damm and Petr Korda of Czech Republic in 1997, Nicolás Massú and Marcelo Ríos of Chile in 1997, Broad and Tim Henman in 1998 and Simon Aspelin and Jonas Björkman of Sweden in 2005. In 2007, Leander has 3 wins(2 Doubles 1 singles) and no losses in the Davis Cup.

Major career wins

Singles titles

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (1)
Challengers (11)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in final Score in final
1. December 7, 1992 Guangzhou, China Hard Flag of the United States Richard Matuszewski 6–3, 6–3
2. May 23, 1994 Mumbai, India Hard Flag of the Netherlands Joost Winnink 6–7, 6–3, 6–1
3. August 8, 1994 Binghamton, New York, U.S. Hard Flag of the United States David Witt 6–4, 6–2
4. July 31, 1995 Brasilia Hard Flag of Brazil Roberto Jabali 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
5. November 18, 1996 Mauritius Grass Flag of France Fabrice Santoro 7–5, 6–4
6. March 2, 1998 Bangkok Hard Flag of Japan Gouichi Motomura 6–4, 7–5
7. July 6, 1998 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. Grass Flag of South Africa Neville Godwin 6–3, 6–2
8. February 1, 1999 Kolkata, India Grass (I) Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
9. April 12, 1999 New Delhi Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi 7–5, 6–4
10. November 29, 1999 Lucknow, India Grass Flag of the United Kingdom Jamie Delgado 7–6, 7–6
11. December 6, 1999 Jaipur, India Grass Flag of the United Kingdom Barry Cowan 7–6, 6–4
12. February 28, 2000 Mumbai, India Hard Flag of the Netherlands Dennis van Scheppingen 7–6, 3–2 ret.

Men's doubles titles (40)

Legend (Doubles)
Grand Slam (4)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (7)
ATP Tour (29)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent in final Score in final
1. April 7, 1997 Chennai, India Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Uzbekistan Oleg Ogorodov
Flag of Israel Eyal Ran
7–6 7–5
2. April 28, 1997 Prague Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Czech Republic Petr Luxa
Flag of the Czech Republic David Škoch
6–1 6–1
3. July 28, 1997 Montreal Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Canada Sébastien Lareau
Flag of the United States Alex O'Brien
7–6 6–3
4. August 11, 1997 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Canada Sébastien Lareau
Flag of the United States Alex O'Brien
6–4 6–7 6–2
5. September 29, 1997 Beijing Hard (I) Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the United States Alex O'Brien
Flag of the United States Jim Courier
7–5 7–6
6. October 6, 1997 Singapore Carpet (I) Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the United States Rick Leach
Flag of the United States Jonathan Stark
6–4 6–4
7. January 5, 1998 Doha, Qatar Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of France Olivier Delaître
Flag of France Fabrice Santoro
6–4 3–6 6–4
8. February 9, 1998 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the United States Donald Johnson
Flag of the United States Francisco Montana
6–2 7–5
9. April 6, 1998 Chennai, India Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of France Olivier Delaître
Flag of Belarus Max Mirnyi
6–7 6–3 6–2
10. May 11, 1998 Rome Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of South Africa Ellis Ferreira
Flag of the United States Rick Leach
6–4 4–6 7–6
11. October 5, 1998 Shanghai Carpet (I) Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Australia Todd Woodbridge
Flag of Australia Mark Woodforde
6–4 6–7 7–6
12. November 2, 1998 Paris Carpet (I) Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Netherlands Jacco Eltingh
Flag of the Netherlands Paul Haarhuis
6–4 6–2
13. April 5, 1999 Chennai, India Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Flag of South Africa Neville Godwin
4–6 7–5 6–4
14. May 24, 1999 French Open Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Croatia Goran Ivanišević
Flag of the United States Jeff Tarango
6–2 7–5
15. June 21, 1999 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Netherlands Paul Haarhuis
Flag of the United States Jared Palmer
6–7 6–3 6–4 7–6
16. July 5, 1999 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. Grass Flag of Australia Wayne Arthurs Flag of Armenia Sargis Sargsian
Flag of the United States Chris Woodruff
6–7 ertyehy 7–6 6–3
17. May 1, 2000 Orlando, Florida, U.S. Clay Flag of the Netherlands Jan Siemerink Flag of the United States Justin Gimelstob
Flag of Canada Sébastien Lareau
6–3 6–4
18. October 9, 2000 Tokyo Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Australia Michael Hill
Flag of the United States Jeff Tarango
6–4 6–7 6–3
19. April 23, 2001 Atlanta Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the United States Rick Leach
Flag of Australia David Macpherson
6–3 7–6
20. April 30, 2001 Houston, Texas, U.S. Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the United States Kevin Kim
Flag of the United States Jim Thomas
7–6 6–2
21. May 28, 2001 French Open Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Czech Republic Petr Pála
Flag of the Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–6 6–3
22. August 6, 2001 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Czech Republic Martin Damm
Flag of Germany David Prinosil
7–6 6–3
23. December 31, 2001 Chennai, India Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Czech Republic Tomáš Cibulec
Flag of the Czech Republic Ota Fukarek
5–7 6–2 7–5
24. April 29, 2002 Majorca, Spain Clay Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Austria Julian Knowle
Flag of Germany Michael Kohlmann
6–2 6–4
25. February 24, 2003 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard Flag of the Czech Republic David Rikl Flag of Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Flag of Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–3 6–0
26. March 3, 2003 Delray Beach, Florida, U.S. Hard Flag of Serbia and Montenegro Nenad Zimonjić Flag of the Netherlands Raemon Sluiter
Flag of the Netherlands Martin Verkerk
7–5 3–6 7–5
27. July 7, 2003 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Flag of the Czech Republic David Rikl Flag of the Czech Republic František Čermák
Flag of the Czech Republic Leoš Friedl
6–3 6–3
28. June 7, 2004 Halle, Germany Grass Flag of the Czech Republic David Rikl Flag of the Czech Republic Tomáš Cibulec
Flag of the Czech Republic Petr Pála
6–2 7–5
29. July 5, 2004 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Flag of the Czech Republic David Rikl Flag of Switzerland Marc Rosset
Flag of Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka
6–4 6–2
30. July 26, 2004 Toronto Hard Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Sweden Jonas Björkman
Flag of Belarus Max Mirnyi
6–4 6–2
31. September 13, 2004 Delray Beach, Florida, U.S. Hard Flag of the Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek Flag of Argentina Gastón Etlis
Flag of Argentina Martín Rodríguez
6–0 6–3
32. April 11, 2005 Monte Carlo Clay Flag of Serbia and Montenegro Nenad Zimonjić Flag of the United States Bob Bryan
Flag of the United States Mike Bryan
walkover
33. April 18, 2005 Barcelona Clay Flag of Serbia and Montenegro Nenad Zimonjić Flag of Spain Feliciano López
Flag of Spain Rafael Nadal
6–3 6–3
34. September 26, 2005 Bangkok Hard (I) Flag of Australia Paul Hanley Flag of Israel Jonathan Erlich
Flag of Israel Andy Ram
6–7 6–1 6–2
35. June 19, 2006 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Flag of the Czech Republic Martin Damm Flag of France Arnaud Clément
Flag of South Africa Chris Haggard
6–1 7–6
36. August 28, 2006 US Open Hard Flag of the Czech Republic Martin Damm Flag of Sweden Jonas Björkman
Flag of Belarus Max Mirnyi
6–7 6–4 6–3
37. February 19, 2007 Rotterdam Hard (I) Flag of the Czech Republic Martin Damm Flag of Romania Andrei Pavel
Flag of Germany Alexander Waske
6–3 6–7 [10–7]
38. March 5, 2007 Indian Wells, California, U.S. Hard Flag of the Czech Republic Martin Damm Flag of Israel Jonathan Erlich
Flag of Israel Andy Ram
6–4 6–4
39. September 21, 2008 Bangkok, Thailand Hard (I) Flag of the Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý Flag of the United States Scott Lipsky
Flag of the United States David Martin
6–4 7–6(4)

Grand Slam men's doubles titles

Year Championship Partnering Opponent in final Score in final
1999 French Open Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of Croatia Goran Ivanišević
Flag of the United States Jeff Tarango
6–2, 7–5
1999 Wimbledon Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Netherlands Paul Haarhuis
Flag of the United States Jared Palmer
6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6
2001 French Open Flag of India Mahesh Bhupathi Flag of the Czech Republic Petr Pála
Flag of the Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–6, 6–3
2006 U.S. Open Flag of the Czech Republic Martin Damm Flag of Sweden Jonas Björkman
Flag of Belarus Max Mirnyi
6–7, 6–4, 6–3

Grand Slam mixed doubles titles

Year Championship Partnering Opponent in final Score in final
1999 Wimbledon Flag of the United States Lisa Raymond Flag of Sweden Jonas Björkman
Flag of Russia Anna Kournikova
6–4, 3–6, 6–3
2003 Australian Open Flag of the United States Martina Navratilova Flag of Australia Todd Woodbridge
Flag of Greece Eleni Daniilidou
6–4, 7–5
2003 Wimbledon Flag of the United States Martina Navratilova Flag of Israel Andy Ram
Flag of Russia Anastassia Rodionova
6–3, 6–3
2008 US Open Flag of Zimbabwe Cara Black Flag of the United Kingdom Jamie Murray
Flag of the United States Liezel Huber
7–6, 6–4

Controversies

Leander Paes and his off and on partnership with fellow Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi draws constant media attention in home country India.[30][31][32] In the 2006 Asian Games, a loss to the Chinese Taipei in the team event led Leander to question Bhupathi's commitment to Team India.[33] He once stated in an interview that although he is friends with Bhupathi, he did not consider pairing with his former team-mate.[34] However, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they decided to play together for their country.[35]

References

  1. ATP (2006-05-28). "Leander Paes - Player Profile". Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  2. Debasmita Chanda. "Leander Paes - India's Tennis Pride". Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  3. "Olympics Barcelona - Men's Doubles - Main Draw". Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  4. Gulu Ezekiel. "KD Jadhav - Man of Bronze". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  5. Mark Malinowski. "Fond Memories: Players REcall Greatest Moments III". Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
  6. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. "LIST OF RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD WINNERS". Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  7. ATP Tennis. "Rankings History". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  8. REUTERS (1998-07-13). "Paes picks up first ATP singles crown". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  9. ATP Tennis. "Official Tournament Draw". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  10. ATP Tennis. "Officiela Tournament Draw, New Haven". Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  11. ATP Tennis (1998-08-21). "Paes sends Sampras packing". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  12. ATP Tennis. "Rankings History". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  13. www.gamesinfo.com.au. "Tennis results". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  14. PTI. (2006-08-06). "Anju to carry flag at Athens". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  15. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (2001-01-26). "Civilian Awards announced on January 26, 2001". Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  16. 14th Asian Games BUSAN. (2002-10-11). "Uzbekistan, India, Chinese Taipei split Asiad tennis titles". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  17. 15th Asian Games Doha. (2006-12-13). "Men's Doubles Final MD31". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  18. 15th Asian Games Doha. (2006-12-13). "Mixed Doubles Final XD21". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  19. ATP Tennis. "Rankings History". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  20. ATP Tennis. "Rankings History". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  21. ATP Tennis. "Rotterdam". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  22. PTI (2007-03-19). "Rotterdam". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  23. ATP. "Player Profile". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  24. IBNLIVE (2008-08-15). "Paes Bhupathi out of Olympics 2008". Retrieved on 2008-08-15.
  25. "Federer leads Swiss to doubles gold".
  26. Rohit Brijnath (2006-04-23). "Leander Paes - setting the standard". Retrieved on 2007-05-28.
  27. Davis Cup. "Team Profile". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  28. Davis Cup. "Player Profile, www.daviscup.com". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  29. Rohit Brijnath, The Sportstar Volume 25, No.40, October 5- October 11, 2002. (2002-10-11). "The enduring uniqueness of the Davis Cup". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  30. M S Unnikrishnan (2000-05-20). "Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi finally part ways". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  31. M S Unnikrishnan (2002-03-23). "Did ‘sibling’ rivalry lead to Paes-Bhupathi split?". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  32. The Hindu (2002-10-04). "AITA wants Mahesh Bhupathi back in the team". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  33. Times Now (2006-12-05). "Paes questions Mahesh's commitment". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  34. IBNLIVE (2006-05-27). "Pairing Hesh not on my mind: Paes". Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  35. The Times of India (2007-12-18). "Lee-Hesh to play together in 2008 Olympics". Retrieved on 2007-12-31.

External links

Preceded by
Karnam Malleswari
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
1996/1997
Joint with Nameirakpam Kunjarani
Succeeded by
Sachin Tendulkar