It has been an extraordinary year in tennis for India’s doubles specialists, the indefatigable Leander Paes and the charming Sania Mirza.
It has been an extraordinary year in tennis for India’s doubles specialists, the indefatigable Leander Paes and the charming Sania Mirza. With three grand slam titles in mixed doubles in 2015, including the US Open, Paes enjoyed a remarkable year for a player aged above 40 while Sania won her second successive grand slam final of the year after Wimbledon. Both Indians have found an ideal foil in the former top-ranked woman player in the world, Martina Hingis, the Swiss who seems to have found her second wind as it were.
While the silverware winning feats of such tennis players must prove inspirational, there isn’t sufficient promise at the grassroots level in India. Apart from giving cash incentives to international-level achievers, the government does little and the corporate sector is not contributing enough these days in setting up and sustaining academies in tennis. Individual achievements in doubles still drive Indian tennis.
In the exclusive heights of current world champions who have the most credible claims to be rated all-time greats, it was the Serbian, Novak Djokovic (28), who emerged with an achievement of Himalayan proportions in subduing Roger Federer to win his 10th grand slam title already. If not for stumbling in the French Open final when ahead, a calendar slam would have been his for the taking. The same was the fate of Serena Williams who was teasingly close to a “pure” slam when she went down to a little-known Italian doubles player. Minor hiccups may have denied Djokovic and Serena even more fabulous achievements, but they are worthy champions of the sport.
