French fear for Leander as partner, coach come off flu

For someone who has won the French Open doubles title twice (1999, 2001) it comes as a bit of a surprise when India's tennis ace Leander Paes says that he's nervous entering the 2009 edition of the event.
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But given the reason, it's only justified that he embarks upon the Roland Garros tourney on a cautious note.

"My partner Lukas (Dlouhy) has just about recovered from a severe bout of flu, which at one point appeared to be the dreaded Swine Flu.

As though that was not enough, Paes' coach too has been under the weather.

Rough start

"My coach Rick (Leach) too had similar symptoms and he had to travel home for that reason. So, in that sense it's definitely been a rough start to the summer for us," added India's most capped Davis Cupper.

Not one to jump ship easily, Paes though is ready to stand by his coach and partner even at the cost of playing the year's second Grand Slam with caution.

"This is a huge setback to our preparations for the French because unfortunately for Lukas, he played through the flu during the singles qualifying in Madrid.

We had to pull out of the Madrid Open thereafter and he was hospitalised and has lost a fair bit of weight too.
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But rather than being disappointed, I'm very much concerned about his condition. The last thing I want to do is rush him into anything.

"And even though he says he's fit for Paris, I don't think it will be fair for me to set any target for us.

Right now it's only about standing by Lukas and Rick and ensuring they regain 100 percent fitness," explained the reigning US Open mixed doubles champ.

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