Paes thrilled with team’s victory

Team victory takes pride of place over individual achievements for Leander Paes, and he was delighted with the way an inspired India beat China 3-2 in the Davis Cup tie in Tianjin on Saturday.

“Getting the record for the most number of doubles wins in the history of Davis Cup is great. But, the satisfaction comes from the fact that it happened in India’s victory. Both Ramkumar and Prajnesh did a great job after we won the doubles,” said Paes.

Dinner conversation

He recalled the conversation over dinner on Friday night in which the doubles players were “ready to take the responsibility, turn the momentum of the match around, and inspire the team to fight at its best.”

The 44-year-old Paes dedicated his record to his family and “all the Davis Cup captains I had, all my doubles partners, all my team mates, and to every Indian. This record is for India.”

The final stretch for the record was hard, but Paes said that he was grateful for the negative situation that helped to ‘reinvent and re-motivate myself’’.

Saying that he was proud of the way he faced the challenges and kept working on his fitness and game, playing tournaments small and big, Paes stressed that it took some effort to reach the milestone.

Resilient and focused

“This record did not happen overnight. In the last couple of years, I had to be resilient and stay focused. Like the Olympic medal that I won in in Atlanta in 1996 that inspired other athletes, I hope my Davis Cup record inspires many generations of Indian tennis players,” said Paes, who started playing in Olympics in 1992, and has competed in seven Games on the trot, a record for India.

“Playing for the country brings the best from me. That is how I have been able to play much better than what my ATP rank ever could hint, he said.