TIANJIN (CHINA),Veteran Leander Paes will make yet another attempt to create the Davis Cup record for the most doubles win as India clash with China in their den in a new two-day format for a place in the World Group Play-offs, in Tianjin on Friday.
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.
Paes had a chance to the make the record of his own when India hosted New Zealand in Pune in February 2017 but doubles was the only match India lost in that tie.
What followed in Bengaluru against Uzbekistan was an avoidable controversy as captain Mahesh Bhupathi chose to put Paes on bench, fielding Sriram Balaji with Bopanna.
Those were two chances when Paes could have got that coveted record in front of his home fans but now after reclaiming his place in the team on the back of some stellar show in the last few months, he has to do it thousands of miles away from home in alien conditions.
“Playing China in China will be tough. They have got a junior who won the US Open, plus they have a tough doubles team, which beat a good New Zealand side. It’s going to be tough. The Chinese play well together as a team. It’s wonderful after 29 years to go for a world record for India. I am happy to be back in the Indian team. But for me it’s important for the team to win the tie,” Paes told PTI in an interaction.
The build up to the second round tie in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie had its share of controversy with Rohan Bopanna expressing reluctance to be on the same team which had Paes before agreeing to travel to China.
Paes strongly believes that Bopanna’s initial reluctance to pair with him will not be a hindrance.
“I have always believed Rohan and me make a very good team. His power, my control. His big serve, my net game. The match against Serbia (in 2014), we were down by two sets against multiple Grand Slam winners but we still managed to come back and win in five sets. That was one of the great doubles wins of my career. I was happy to do that alongside Rohan.”
