The Grand Old Man of Indian tennis

At an age when most sportsmen have retired, Leander Paes is not just going strong but also winning Grand Slam doubles events. By any standards his achievement is phenomenal. The fact remains that he has been playing professional tennis for 21 years and not many players in the Open era have had this durability.

The cynics might say that Paes is playing only doubles and his singles record (except in the Davis Cup) is nothing much to write home about. But it is not easy to keep going at 38 in a highly competitive sport that is increasingly being dominated by young players. It must be emphasized that he is not just winning ATP Tour doubles titles but also as I said Grand Slams.

Image: Leander Paes of India, right, and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic hold the trophy during the awarding ceremony after defeating USA's Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in their men's doubles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012.

Images: AP/AFP