Leander Paes bows out of ATP Hall of Fame Open, Ramkumar Ramanathan enters semis
Tennis | July 20, 2018 15:34 ISTLeander Paes bowed out after losing his doubles quarter-final at the Hall of Fame Open grasscourt tournament in Newport.
Leander Paes bowed out after losing his doubles quarter-final at the Hall of Fame Open grasscourt tournament in Newport.
Leander Paes made a winning return to competitive tennis with American partner Jamie Cerretani at the ATP Hall of Fame Open in Newport.
Leander Paes returned to the Indian team for the Asian Games while the country's top player Yuki Bhambri was exempted as the AITA announced a 12-member squad.
Yuki, ranked 93, has told AITA that if he gets direct entry into the last Grand Slam of the season, he won't be available.
Leander Paes is 44 now, with a world record 43 doubles wins in Davis Cup to his credit.
Leander Paes, India's Davis Cup hero for years, was tied on 42 wins with Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli for long but finally surpassed him, albeit, in a foreign land.
The 44-year-old Paes is tied on 42 wins with Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli and one more win will make him the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup.
The 64-year-old, who is now a commentator, said he was not in favour of tinkering with the Davis Cup format and suggested that the ITF should make competition in the elite World Group a biennial affair with all top players part of it.
Paes has returned to Top-50 and is placed 46 in the rankings after his stupendous show at the ATP 500 event in Dubai where he ended runners-up.
Paes, who reached the final in Dubai with Jamie Cerretani last week, jumped to 46, two places behind Divij Sharan (44), who gained one place, while, Rohan Bopanna remains unchanged at number 20.
Paes, playing his 97th ATP World Tour event, and America's Cerretani lost the final 2-6 6-7(2) in one hour and 27 minutes.
Paes had earlier made the third round of the Australian Open and also reached the finals of two back-to-back Challengers, winning one.
The top-seeded pair of Paes and Joe Salisbury overcame Americans Austin Krajicek and Jackson Withrow 7-6(3), 6-4 in the semifinal.
The top-seeded Indo-American team overcame a spirited challenge from Ruben Gonzales and Hunter Reese 6-3 2-6 17-15 in the quarter-finals.
Leander Paes had partnered American James Cerretani for the Newport Beach tournament, which fetched him 125 ranking points.
The Columbian pair didn't break a sweat in the third round of the men's doubles as they rode off an easy win against Paes-Raja, defeating them 6-1,6-2.
The Indian duo will now take on Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah for a place in the quarter-finals.
Many of Paes' contemporaries have become coaches, while, many of his juniors have already hung racquets but this Indian legend's hunger for tennis is far from satiated.
This is Paes and Raja's first-ever title after joining forces in August this year.
Paes and Raja, who are yet to win a title together since joining forces, advanced with a 6-2 6-4 win over American team of Kevin King and Bradley Klahn in just 55 minutes.
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