Leander Paes made history with his 14th career grand slam victory tonight, which came at the age of 40. Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek defeated second seeds Alexander Peya (Austria) and Bruno Soares (Brazil) 6-1, 6-3 in the final to win the US Open Men’s Doubles title for third time. Last year, he had finished runner-up. In the semifinal, Paes-Stepanek had stunned top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in three sets.
It was Paes’ 8th Men’s Doubles title overall and 14th grand slam title. Paes and Stepanek have won the US Open together for the first time. The duo had won the 2012 Australian Open title earlier. In the final, Paes was ruthless against the opponents, who did not get a chance to bounce back.
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Leander Paes had won the US Open title with Martin Damm in 2006 and Lukas Dlouhy in 2009. He started his professional Tennis career in 1991 and during his 22-year-long illustrious career, has won many matches and tournaments for India. Paes is considered as a tough nut in Davis Cup circuit. He had won a bronze medal for India at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The former captain of India’s Davis Cup team, Paes has been awarded with Arjuna Awards, Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in the last few years. There is a huge similarity between Paes and Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin started playing in 1989-90 and still continuing. Paes started in 1991 and still there with heads on a high.
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