By clinching the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Cara Black on Sunday, Leander Paes became India's highest ever Slam winner, on 12 ufffd one beyond former partner Mahesh Bhupathi (11).
By clinching the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Cara Black on Sunday, Leander Paes became India's highest ever Slam winner, on 12 ufffd one beyond former partner Mahesh Bhupathi (11).
The man himself however believes it's the longevity of his sporting career that takes precedence over everything else.
"While Slam No 12 is special, for a moment if I don't count the titles and instead look at the number of Grand Slam finals I've made, which now is an amazing 23, then I think it speaks volumes of my longevity as an athlete and that's what I take pride in," Paes told MiD DAY after he and Black beat 11th seeds Wesley Moodie and Lisa Raymond 6-4, 7-6 (5) at the All-England Club on Sunday.
"Winning and losing is part of sport, but the fact that I still feel like a kid when I get out on court is what I enjoy most," said the 37-year-old five-time Olympian, who is currently in his 20th year of professional sport.
"I've been blessed by the fact that injuries have not got the better of me yet. And it's moments like these (winning Wimbledon), that motivate me to get back to training day after day even at this stage in my career," said the teetotaler, who swears by a strict training schedule.
In fact, such is Paes' love for outdoor sport that whenever he gets time off from the Tour and when he's at home in Mumbai, he's more than willing to sneak a game of football with the city's sports journalists.
"I think my tendency to go out there and sweat it out ufffd come what may ufffd has helped me achieve whatever I have. I hope to have more fun now at the year-ending US Open. It's one of my favourite Slams," said Paes who with Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy is the defending champion at the New York tournament, besides being runner-up in the mixed doubles with Black too.
