Self-belief paid off: French Open finalist Leander Paes

Aggressive approach helped the Indian and partner to make the final of the French Open

Self-belief paid off: French Open finalist Leander Paes

Aggressive approach helped the Indian and partner to make the final of the French Open

Leander Paes believes he and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy have done the unthinkable by beating the top seeded pair of Daniel Nestor and Ninad Zimonjic in the semi-finals of the French Open yesterday.

Given the impeccable form Nestor and Zimonjic were riding on coming into Roland Garros, it would have taken nothing short of a miracle to beat them. However, Paes believes in miracles.

"They (Nestor-Zimonjic) are not the World's No 1 doubles team for nothing. They won all clay titles before coming here Rome, Madrid, Barcelona they won it all and were unbeatable on clay. However, if there was one thing that we were relying on it was self-belief and thankfully our aggressive approach paid off," Paes told MiD DAY after advancing to the French Open doubles final with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) victory in an hour and 48 minutes.

Third seeds Paes and Dlouhy knew they had a mountain to climb. But yesterday, there were some personal scores to settle too.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't want to win badly after having lost to them not once, or twice but thrice this season.

"Besides, last year in the Wimbledon final, they just managed to beat us 8-6 in the fifth set. So, it was hurting.
But Lukas and myself gelled perfectly today and even when they sensed a comeback (in the second set), we ensured that the back door was tightly shut," said the reigning US Open mixed doubles champion.

Wesley Moodie (South Africa) and Dick Norman (Belgium) are Paes and Dlouhy's final opponents.

The unseeded pair beat second-seeded Americans, Bob and Mike Bryan, 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the first semi-final yesterday.

"Moodie is 6 ft 5 in, while Norman is 6 ft 10. Both have a very powerful first serve and a huge reach advantage, so it will be a very tough final. They have beaten former world number ones (the Bryan brothers), so they are no pushovers.

"But going by our unbelievable teamwork and on-court camaraderie, I don't think you can write us off either," Paes signed off.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels