Melbourne: India's veteran tennis ace Leander Paes created history by becoming the first Indian to complete a career Grand Slam of winning all the four Major titles by winning the Australian Open men's doubles event in Melbourne on Saturday. Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek thrashed world No.1 pair Mike and Bob Bryan from the US in straight sets in the final at the Rod Laver Arena.
The Indo-Czech pair, who lost to the American twins in the Sydney International tournament in the run-up to the Open, won 7-6 (7-1), 6-2.
The unseeded pair beat the top seeds in an hour and 24 minutes, excelling in court-craft and splendid net-play. Stepanek was the star, a fact acknowledged by Paes after the match, as the Czech showed some great hands at the net besides his immaculate ground strokes to deny the Bryan brothers their record sixth Australian Open title and a record 12th Grand Slam doubles title.
The 33-year-old Bryans were attempting to secure their place as the most decorated doubles team since the Open Era began in 1968. The brothers remain level on 11 Major titles with the Australian duo of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, also known by their nickname the Woodies.
"Obviously, it's disappointing," Bob Bryan said. "But you know, I thought we have had a great Australian swing, and we're playing, at least I'm playing a lot better than I did last year already. It bodes well for the rest of the year."
The Bryans have captured each Major at least once, but they've been most dominant at Melbourne Park, where they've won three straight Australian titles and five overall. They hadn't lost here since the quarter-finals in 2008.
Paes and Stepanek are veteran doubles players but were teaming up for just the fourth time. Before Sydney earlier this month, the Indian and Czech duo hadn't played together for nearly six years.
As expected, it was a keenly fought match. The opening set went with serve, with Paes and Bob saving break-points on their serves in the fourth and fifth games respectively. Stepanek, who is five years younger than the Indian at 33, attacked Bob's serve in the fifth game, unleashing tremendous returns and thrilling net-play to earn a break-point. But the American brothers saw off the threat comfortably. Some of the Stepanek's shots were so stunning that once Paes even bowed his head, acknowledging the winner.
"I have to thank my partner Radek for putting me on his shoulders and carrying me through the week. I have played five finals against the brothers and lost three and you know how it feels," Paes said after the win.
Stepanek, who won the first Grand Slam doubles title, was emotional after the win. "It's tough to add to what Leander has said. This was one title that was missing and I am happy that I was by your side when you won it." The Czech player lost in his only other final at the 2002 US Open.
Eventually, the issue was stretched to the tie-breaker, and then Indo-Czech pair dominated the Bryan brothers right after earning a break in the first point. There was no stopping Paes and Stepanek after that first point and they comfortably took the lead, taking advantage of rare misses by the brothers and a couple of deft volleys by Paes to capture six straight points, letting the rivals take just one point.
The pair then broke the Bryans immediately in the second set on a Stepanek cross-court volley winner to go up 2-0. The Bryans had a chance to break back at 2-4, but Paes saved it with another sharp volley. The Bryans lost steam after that, with Paes and Stepanek dictating terms.
After Mike Bryan double-faulted on match point, Paes leaped into Stepanek's arms and the pair swung around at mid-court. They both then reached up to stands to give high-fives to Martina Navratilova, with whom Paes won the mixed doubles trophy at the Australian Open in 2003.
Paes had thrice reached the Australian open final but lost on all occasions - twice to Bryan brothers. This title has eluded Paes since the late 90s when he, along with estranged partner Mahesh Bhupathi, dominated doubles in tennis and reached the number one spot as a team in 1999.
In their quest to complete their Slam tally, Paes and Bhupathi had joined hands in 2011 after a gap 11 years, but the title slipped out of their hands as they lost to the Bryan brothers. Paes and Bhupathi broke their partnership again late this year, with the latter choosing Rohan Bopanna as his partner for the 2012 season.
For Paes, this is his seventh men's doubles Grand Slam and 13th overall, including six mixed doubles titles. He is India's most successful doubles player in Majors. Bhupathi has won 11 Grand Slam titles. For him and Stepanek this is their second title together, having won a Tour final way back in 2004.
Of the seven Grand Slam titles Paes has won, three came with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi and the other four, curiously, with three different Czech partners - Martin Damm, Lukas Dlouhy and now Stepanek. Paes has won the French Open thrice (1999, 2001, 2009) and the Wimbledon (1999) and US Open (2006) once each.
Paes and Mahesh won the French Open and Wimbledon and lost the Australian and US Open finals in 1999. Their third title came two years later at Roland Garros.
Paes' fourth success came with Damm at the US Open in 2006. The next two he won with Dlouhy - the 2009 French Open and the US Open.
The closest Paes came to winning the Australian Open was in 1999 when he and Bhupathi were beaten by Swede Bjonas Bjorkman and Australian Patrick Rafter in five sets after being 2-1 up. The Indians lost last year too, to Mike and Bob Bryan, over three sets. The Americans also denied Paes in 2006 when Damm was the Indian's partner.
Paes also has six mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and will be looking for his seventh in his 13th final on Sunday. He and his Russian partner Elena Vesnina will take on eight seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US and Romanian Horia Tecau.
In the 1999 Wimbledon, Paes had won both the titles - men's doubles with Bhupathi and mixed doubles with America's Lisa Raymond.
Paes began the season by winning the Chennai Open with Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.
Meanwhile, the Indian tennis fraternity lauded Paes for winning a Grand Slam title at the age of 38 and described him as a "born doubles player."
Former Davis Cup skipper Jaideep Mukherjea said the way Paes and Stepanek played, it won't be a surprise if they win another Slam in the 2012 season.
"It's fantastic for Indian tennis. We are all excited. All credit goes to Paes for winning a Grand Slam at the age of 38. To win with a new partner is even more amazing," Mukherjea told PTI.
"Their service return was fantastic. Even in the tie-breaker, they were so dominating. If they play like this, they could win another Grand Slam together. Doubles is all about reflexes and they were very agile."
India's current Davis Cup captain SP Misra felt such a start to the Olympic year augurs well for Paes and India.
"He can disturb the rhythm of any player in the world. Such is his repertoire of shots. This is a remarkable achievement. He is born doubles player," Misra said. "He is an amazing right-court player. He creates opportunities for his partners and that's why he has tasted such big success with left-court players."
"Definitely, he is a contender (for the Olympics). He is still moving well. He is professional and physically fit player. He will be India's hope at Olympics."
Mukherjea also felt that if Paes could keep his form, India will have a good chance to win medal at the 2012 London Games.
"Certainly, if he plays like this, he will be a serious contender. but there are a lot of tournaments in between. Let's see, how he fares in those tournaments."
Paes had won the singles bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games to become India's first tennis player to win a medal.
The All India Tennis Association also congratulated Paes on his achievement and promised to felicitate the Indian at an appropriate time.
"It's a great day for Indian tennis. We had felicitated Paes when he completed 20 years in the Davis Cup and will definitely honour him for this remarkable achievement," AITA secretary-general Anil Khanna said.
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