Paes and Stepanek have had a pretty ordinary year together, with their best in tandem being a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon.
KOLKATA: On Thursday, Leander Paes almost single-handedly denied Bob and Mike Bryan a shot at Grand Slam history, knocking the red-hot American twins out of the US Open men's doubles semis.
Come Sunday, India's tennis maestro will be seeking to create history of his own when he steps on to the Arthur Ashe Stadium, along with Radek Stepanek, in a bid to lift a Grand Slam crown at the ripe age of 40.
Age may be nothing but a number for Paes, but it's not everyday that a 40-year-old is on the verge of winning a tennis major. There have been a few golden oldies who have tasted Grand Slam success at that age and beyond, but you can count them on the fingers of your hand.
Interestingly, the last player to have climbed a major summit post-40, happens to be Martina Navratilova - someone Paes idolizes and draws inspiration from. The legendary Navratilova was 46 when she and Paes won the Australian and Wimbledon mixed doubles in 2003.
The Grand Old Lady raised the bar even further when she combined with Bob Bryan to lift the 2006 US Open mixed doubles title - just a month shy of her 50th birthday!
No one else has done it since then, but knowing Paes as well as she does, Martina will surely not be betting against the Indian joining the champions-at-40 club.
"He may have become a tad slow, but his hand-eye coordination is still very good and that's what makes him such a dangerous player even at this age," was how Dr Vece Paes summed up his son's prowess.
Naresh Kumar, the man credited with 'discovering' Paes' talent when he was just 16, picked two more attributes that make the 13-time Grand Slam champion a feared opponent. "He's one of the greatest interceptors in the game... plus, he is fearless and has that ability to pull off something out of nothing," said the former Davis Cup captain.
Those qualities were on ample display at Flushing Meadows the other day, when the Bryans faced the brunt of it and left their dream of completing a calendar Grand Slam in tatters.
Now, standing between 'Marathon Man' Paes and his eighth Grand Slam doubles title is the relatively little-known second-seeded pair of Brazilian Bruno Soares and Austrian Alexander Peya. Neither has a major on his CV, but the late bloomers will be driven by the confidence gained from an impressive season, during which they have won 45 of their 60 matches and claimed four titles.
Paes and Stepanek, by comparison, have had a pretty ordinary year together (12 wins and 6 losses), with their best in tandem being a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon. They found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreline the only time they faced Peya and Soares - in the Tokyo final last year. And, they haven't had a single easy match at the US Open so far, having been taken the distance in all but five encounters.
"Doubles is tricky and very unpredictable," warned Naresh. "It could all depend on one or two shots and interceptions." If it does turn out to be another tight three-setter, trust Paes to rise to the occasion, yet again.
The win over Bryan brothers should give them (Paes-Stepanek) great confidence and make them favourites in the final... They have a fantastic chance of winning the title : Ramesh Krishnan.
It's an open match... Doubles can be very tricky and unpredictable. One or two shots or interceptions can make the difference, so both teams have a chance : Naresh Kumar.
Paes and Stepanek should win even if they can produce half the game they played against the Bryan brothers in the semifinal. I would put it at 60-40 for Paes and Stepanek : Jaidip Mukerjea.
PAES IN US OPEN DOUBLES FINALS
Paes will be playing his seventh men's doubles final at US Open, having won two and lost four so far. Overall, this will be his 16th Grand Slam men's doubles final, his win-loss record being 7-8. He also owns six Grand Slam mixed doubles titles from 14 finals. Following is his men's doubles final record at Flushing Meadows:
1999: Paes & Mahesh Bhupathi lost to Lareau & O'Brien
2004: Paes & David Rikl lost to Mark Knowles & Daniel Nestor
2006: Paes & Martin Damm bt Jonas Bjorkman & Max Mirnyi
2008: Paes & Lukas Dlouhy lost to Bob & Mike Bryan
2009: Paes & Dlouhy bt Bhupathi & Knowles
2012: Paes & Radek Stepanek lost to Bryans
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