Leander Paes has been playing Davis Cup for 21 years for India, but still retains the enthusiasm of a 16-year-old making his debut for the nation.
Leander Paes has been playing Davis Cup for 21 years for India, but still retains the enthusiasm of a 16-year-old making his debut for the nation. He said that the Davis Cup tie against Brazil from September 17 to 19 was a special occasion.
Arriving in Chennai on Tuesday afternoon for the crucial World Group Playoff Davis Cup match during the weekend, Leander had a long work out on the centre court of the Nugambakkam SDAT Stadium.
After working out with juniors V M Ranjeet and Vishnu Vardhan (two players across the net, firing at him from all possible angles), Leander also had a session with India’s singles hopeful Rohan Bopanna.
After exchanging light banter with his teammates on the US Open experience, Leander was ready to face the media barrage.
“For sure, this tie is something special for me. I still remember my first match in Davis Cup against Japan in Jaipur. It was 18-16 in the fifth set and we won the tie,” he said referring to the five-set doubles match that he won along with Zeeshan Ali to help India clinch the tie 4-1 in 1990.
On his doubles partner on Saturday, Paes said it was up to the non-playing captain Shiv Prakash Mishra to take a call since the team had plenty of options.
“It is good to have options and it is going to be tough on the captain to decide. I have full confidence in SP uncle whom I have known for many years. He has been our lucky captain and so, it is up to him,” Paes added.
Always one to give off his best while playing for the nation, Paes recalled some of his best moments in his cherished Davis
Cup career.
“There are so many of those (great moments), but I particularly remember my win against (Goran) Ivanisevic (1995, vs Croatia in Delhi), Frejus (of France in 1992) and what I feel was the cleanest tie I have ever played, against Jan Siemerink (of Netherlands in 1996) when I won all my three sets on tie-break,” he said.
Now 37, Paes said he needed to put in extra effort to prepare for a Davis Cup match, and admitted that representing the country was the biggest high he could ever experience.
“As a kid, I always wanted to be an Olympian and play for my country. I am happy that I was able to achieve that,” Paes, whose father Vece, was a hockey bronze medallist at the 1972 Olympics, said. Leander won the singles bronze in the 1996 Olympics.
“I beat one of my closest friends, Fernando Meligeni of Brazil to win the bronze medal at Atlanta (Olympics),” he remembered.
“Brazilians are very nice people and I had the honour of playing a match in front of Pele, but these players here are tough and strong,” he said when asked about the upcoming tie.
Leander downplayed factors such as the court surface and weather conditions or, for that matter, both Brazilian singles players, Thomaz Bellucci and Ricard Mello, being left-handers.
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