It is said that the current era in sports is one of instant gratification. Longevity comes at a premium. It seems an athlete like Steve Redgrave or Carl Lewis or Ryan Giggs, with a career spanning decades, is hard to come by.
Closer home, Sachin Tendulkar will always be the gold standard for longevity and sporting excellence. But for making a mark in a sport more global and more athletic than cricket, Leander Paes needs a special mention.
It is well known that he has played for more than two decades. So is the fact that he has played six Olympics which no tennis player has done. It is also well known that he became the oldest man to win a Major title in the Open Era at the US Open in 2013.
But something which is not very well known is this Davis Cup record of his. Even captain Anand Amritraj pleaded ignorance to it.
When he and Rohan Bopanna combined to win the doubles rubber against Serbia last weekend, it was his 41st doubles win in the competition. No other active player has more. Also he ranks only below Italian Nicola Pietrangeli, who has 42 wins. Paes also has the most number of wins (doubles & singles combined) among active players at 89.
A record such as this, in the most individual of sports, during the decades when players were least bothered about turning up for their countries, is indeed stellar
“It’s his greatest achievement,” says Zeeshan Ali, the current India coach who was Paes’s first Cup partner in 1990, of his longevity. “It’s a miracle. Tennis careers are short, mind you. One thing that has still not changed [since 1990] is the fire in his belly. It particularly stands out while playing for the country.”
Something that’s equally noteworthy is his 97 different partners on the tour.
In fact, his youngest partner Sanam Singh, at last year’s tie against Indonesia, was three when Paes became a pro in 1991.
“He carries his partner very well. He just lifts his teammate’s game,” says Zeeshan. This ability was on display when he and Bopanna, teaming up after a gap of two years, battled to victory against the established Nenad Zimonjic-Ilija Bozoljac pair.
Paes is now 41. Yet he is in no mood to stop.
One more year of Davis Cup can get him past Pietrangeli; two more years of tennis, can make him the only living athlete to compete in seven Olympics — both achievements which will help him leave in a blaze of glory.
