Leander Paes- The Doubles Champion

Leander Adrian Paes, born on 17 June 1973 in Calcutta, is the Indian tennis best doubles and mixed doubles player who is known for having achieved a Career Grand Slam in each way. Famous for his mixed doubles Wimbledon title in 2010, he became the second man to win Wimbledon titles in three decades.

He has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. He has a career Grand Slam in men's doubles and mixed doubles, and achieved the rare men's doubles/mixed doubles double at the 1999 Wimbledon tournament. He has been awarded with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1996–97; the Arjuna Award in 1990; the Padma Shri award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014 for his outstanding contribution to tennis in India. The former Davis Cup team captain holds the record for the most Davis Cup doubles wins with 43 victories. He won bronze medal for India in singles in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and participated in consecutive Olympic appearances from 1992 to 2016 which made him the first Indian and only tennis player to compete at seven Olympic Games. He also plays in World Team Tennis for the Washington Kastles. In early life, Paes had won titles at the Junior US Open and the Junior Wimbledon and later became the number 1 in the world junior rankings. In 1992, he reached the quarter finals of the doubles event in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with Ramesh Krishnan. In 1994, he reached the quarter-finals of the 1995 Australian Open doubles. Then he shook hands with fellow-Indian Mahesh Bhupathi in 1996. They grew stronger in 1998 and reached semifinals of three Grand Slams, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. Also, Paes had two of his biggest singles results in the ATP tour. Paes was also offered the honour of carrying the Indian Flag at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. In 2008, Paes and Bhupathi also participated in the men's doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Paes and Radek Stepanek together won the 2013 US Open men's doubles, Paes' 3rd US Open men's doubles title and 14th Grand Slam title. In 2014, Government of India declared Padma Bhushan for Paes. Not only had this but he got seventh Grand Slam mixed doubles crown at the 2015 Australian Open with Martina Hingis in 2015. He now made his film debut in Ashok Kohli's Rajdhani Express, a socio-political thriller and is offered his first Hollywood script.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leander_Paes