I’m really glad I didn’t blink during the Wimbledon mixed doubles final. Because if I had I would have missed the whole thing. India’s Leander Paes won the title with a partner named Martina for the second time in his career. And as for Hingis, following the previous day’s victory with Sania Mirza, surely now she’s eligible for an Indian passport.
Paes and Hingis, the seventh seeds at Wimbledon this year, won the lopsided final 6-0 6-1 in 40 minutes. It was an astounding display of doubles tennis by two veterans whose skills are well known. Their opponents, Alexander Peya and Timea Babos, who were seeded higher at five, looked shell-shocked during the match and could only laugh in disbelief when it was over. Even the BBC commentators sounded a bit stunned by what they were witnessing.
Paes and Hingis have now won two of this year’s Grand Slams, the Australian and now Wimbledon. Unlike the ladies doubles pairing of Hingis and Mirza, this duo has a lot of similarities. Both are very quick at the net with great natural feel for the game. They seem to uncannily sense where the ball is going and their rapid exchanges are a delight to watch. Paes and Hingis played perfect tennis together last night to wrap things up at this year’s event.
Paes is among the best
A lot has been said already about Hingis’ comeback to winning ways here after 17 years. Indians of course are thrilled that she did so with two of their own players. It is easy to forget that Leander Paes is eight years older than Hingis, and at an age when few players would continue to play. Men’s doubles is getting harder and harder for him, particularly five-set matches. But in the mixed event, where matches are shorter and less demanding physically, he is still one of the very best.
This was Paes’s 16th Grand Slam and eighth mixed title. He had previously won the same event three times, with Lisa Raymond in 1999, Martina Navratilova in 2003, and Cara Black in 2010. Paes has already achieved so much for Indian sport that he could easily retire and move on to other things or a quieter life. But, luckily for us he seems to still enjoy the game as much as ever. Their performance in the final last night will hopefully spur Hingis and Paes on to keep playing together for a while.
This has been a good tournament for India, with not just two but three titles. Joining Mirza and Paes is Sumit Nagal who won the boys’ doubles with his Vietnamese partner Nam Hoang Ly. They defeated Reilly Opelka and Akira Santillan 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final. Nagal, 17, might well be another successful doubles player in years to come.
In the tennis world, doubles events have always been regarded as less important than singles, which is a shame because doubles is a joy to watch and requires tremendous skill, great reflexes, and perfect collaboration between partners. When four players instead of two are on court, and can use all of it including the tramlines, the result is lightening fast points and a brilliant variety of shot making. Thanks to the success Indians have enjoyed over the last couple of decades at the very highest level, that second-class citizen of tennis has grown in popularity in this part of the world. This year’s three Wimbledon titles proves yet again that at least in India, we don’t take doubles lightly.
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Paes and Hingis, the seventh seeds at Wimbledon this year, won the lopsided final 6-0 6-1 in 40 minutes. It was an astounding display of doubles tennis by two veterans whose skills are well known. Their opponents, Alexander Peya and Timea Babos, who were seeded higher at five, looked shell-shocked during the match and could only laugh in disbelief when it was over. Even the BBC commentators sounded a bit stunned by what they were witnessing.
Paes and Hingis have now won two of this year’s Grand Slams, the Australian and now Wimbledon. Unlike the ladies doubles pairing of Hingis and Mirza, this duo has a lot of similarities. Both are very quick at the net with great natural feel for the game. They seem to uncannily sense where the ball is going and their rapid exchanges are a delight to watch. Paes and Hingis played perfect tennis together last night to wrap things up at this year’s event.
Paes is among the best
A lot has been said already about Hingis’ comeback to winning ways here after 17 years. Indians of course are thrilled that she did so with two of their own players. It is easy to forget that Leander Paes is eight years older than Hingis, and at an age when few players would continue to play. Men’s doubles is getting harder and harder for him, particularly five-set matches. But in the mixed event, where matches are shorter and less demanding physically, he is still one of the very best.
This was Paes’s 16th Grand Slam and eighth mixed title. He had previously won the same event three times, with Lisa Raymond in 1999, Martina Navratilova in 2003, and Cara Black in 2010. Paes has already achieved so much for Indian sport that he could easily retire and move on to other things or a quieter life. But, luckily for us he seems to still enjoy the game as much as ever. Their performance in the final last night will hopefully spur Hingis and Paes on to keep playing together for a while.
This has been a good tournament for India, with not just two but three titles. Joining Mirza and Paes is Sumit Nagal who won the boys’ doubles with his Vietnamese partner Nam Hoang Ly. They defeated Reilly Opelka and Akira Santillan 7-6(4), 6-4 in the final. Nagal, 17, might well be another successful doubles player in years to come.
In the tennis world, doubles events have always been regarded as less important than singles, which is a shame because doubles is a joy to watch and requires tremendous skill, great reflexes, and perfect collaboration between partners. When four players instead of two are on court, and can use all of it including the tramlines, the result is lightening fast points and a brilliant variety of shot making. Thanks to the success Indians have enjoyed over the last couple of decades at the very highest level, that second-class citizen of tennis has grown in popularity in this part of the world. This year’s three Wimbledon titles proves yet again that at least in India, we don’t take doubles lightly.
