Being Leander: Ace of Indian Tennis

For more than two decades, this mean, gritty tennis player from Kolkata has epitomised sportsmanship. Leander Paes has consistently raised his game and reached heroic heights when he plays for India.

Last week, he did it again to become the man with the sixth best ‘win-loss’ record in the Davis Cup. It was also the week that he became a father. At 33, Paes sees himself on the tennis circuit for another five years and will definitely take another shot at the Olympics. Anuradha SenGupta tosses some aces at the Ace of Indian Tennis.

Anuradha SenGupta Leander Paes, you are a sportsman India knows intimately, you have been very open with us, you have shared your ups and downs, what need gap do you think a sportsman fills in our lives? We live via you, don't we?

Leander Paes: And we live by you. I think that there is a mutual camaraderie, there is a mutual understanding that goes back and forth. Especially when you do end up playing for the country, there is an admiration from one side, there is appreciation from the other. There is entertainment o the one side and the entertainer on the other.

There is patriotism on both sides and I believe that there is a stage that is set - call it Davis Cup, call it the Olympics, call it the Asian Games - which brings about this magical bond.

Anuradha SenGupta In 2003, I had met you after the Davis Cup tie in New Delhi against Korea and you had said, “It is hard to put into words why your level of tennis jumps from two to three notches when you play the Davis Cup." Last week, how many notches did it jump?

Leander Paes:Leave that out to the viewer, but I left everything out there. I think I played the last three or four games on one leg and my left leg had completely cramped up - hamstrings, calves, abductors, quadriceps - it was leading into my lower back. And that is what happens in tropical, hot, summer conditions like this in Mumbai.

Anuradha SenGuptaArthur Ashe, the legendary tennis player said - You are never really playing the opponent, you are playing yourself, your highest standards and when you reach your limits, that is real joy. So, in Mumbai that Sunday, did you experience real joy? Because you pushed yourself, you said you were playing on one leg.

Leander Paes:I have just been a very, very blessed human being, be it my tennis, be it my own health, be it the fact that Anaihya has come into this world and given Rhea and myself the pinnacle of joy for any parent. Having one of these events happen in a week is an elation in itself, having it all come together in one go is quite a handful and I just bow my head in gratitude and say Thank You.

Anuradha SenGupta Tell us, these limits that a person pushes - or you pushed on that Sunday during the match - what really is it? Like I am sitting here, I can sense discomfort because it is hot, what really do you feel when you are playing that match? At the age that your body is at?

Leander Paes:A sense of discomfort that you would never be able to fathom. You know that is another fantastic part about being an athlete that you push yourself to the limits in different stages in your life. As a 12-year-old when I first left home to embark on trying to be a professional tennis player, I had never run for a seven kilometers.

In Madras, on Marina beach, I had to run that seven-kilometer run to expand these lungs and work these muscles on a sandy beach, which is much more difficult than running on grass or a compact surface. Now, that exhaustion was somewhat the same as that I felt on Sunday.

Playing at Wimbeldon in 1999, when I eventually coveted both the doubles and the mixed doubles with Mahesh and Lisa Raymond respectively, I had to play three matches on the last four days. For me, I find that in life, you do not get so many opportunities, but when they do come in, you have just got to keep yourself ready.

Anuradha SenGupta In that crucial fifth match, there were two battles isn't it - one with yourself and one with the opponent?

Leander Paes:The night before the when we had our team meeting, every one of them said Lee you have got to put yourself in. I sassed it out through the night and pretty much knew that it was the best decision to make rather than putting Rohan into a situation in which he would be nervous. He would be nervous in front of his home crowd, he would be playing an Aqeel Khan who is a very tenacious character on the field, specially in a fifth set rubber.

Anuradha SenGuptaYou have explained about how the decision to play that deciding match was made; isn't it really whether you can really win the match or whether the other guy - in this case Rohan Bopanna - would lose the match? If you just take out everything else and you pare it down to the bare bones, isn't this what it is about?

Leander Paes:Going straight down to the skeleton of the decision, it was whether my body was ready, that was all it was. Tennis wise, mentally, passionately, patriotically, I would definitely choose myself to go into a situation like that only because of the experience that one has gained over the last 20 years. I have been into that situation many a times. As a captain you try and not protect your players, but you try and stand in for them.

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Anuradha SenGupta How did you finally make that call when you decide that you are protecting this guy and how do you ensure that the guy sees it as the right decision and not a chance to go out there and be a hero. How do you ensure that?

Leander Paes:You see, sports is like an animal instinct, it is something that the athlete feels. Especially at the higher echelons of sport, there is an instinct of - Am I ready or am I not? And every athlete knows whether he is ready for the occasion or whether his homework is not perfect.

For me, when it comes to playing for the country, my homework is always perfect. Regardless of whether I win or lose because sometimes winning or losing is not left up to me. So, when I sense Rohan's position after asking him the question - are you ready? I have a feel for that. When I ask Mahesh what is your gut feeling, his answer would give me a feel of what he is feeling.

When I ask my doctor or the physio or the dietician on the team - do you feel Rohan is ready or I am ready, then again you get inputs from different angles. So you sit down with it, you chew over that and then you go into that and you say - Am I ready for this job or is someone else best fitted for it?

Anuradha SenGupta Leander, you have spoken on several occasions in the past, you have spoken today about the role that India and patriotism plays in propelling you to achieving greater heights. What is India to you Leander?

Leander Paes: Mother India is home for me. My profession takes me far and wide. With all the tournaments that we have, we only have about three events in India in a year, we also have maybe one or two Davis Cups at home in a year, but regardless of how far away I go, my heart is engrained in India.

Anuradha SenGupta I feel exactly the same way. I am sure most people who have been born in a country feel that way. How have you managed to take that feeling and convert that it action?

Leander Paes:Well, it is something that comes naturally. I think in each one of us, the canvas of our own lives is an expression of one's inner being. So, for me my expression of my bond or my love or my Mother India is my own expression. It is just that my passion levels for life have may be a higher grade of expression to it.

Anuradha SenGuptaHow much of this has India changed from the time you were this pre-teen from Kolkata, who was trying to get into the international circuit, and today as a guy who has been a number one doubles player, who has played with played with legendary players like Martina Navratilova and who is still very active on the circuit?

Leander Paes:Opportunity levels have increased multiple fold. When I coming around, sponsorships were not as easy to come by. When I was a teenager, synthetic surfaces that international tournaments are played on were not there in India. It is so much easier for someone like a Sania to excel compared to a Nirupama Mankad when she was playing in the seventies and the late sixties to excel. There is no comparision.

Anuradha SenGuptaAnd yet, after Leander and Mahesh, you have had Sania Mirza who has reached a certain level on the international circuit. But like your Davis Cup tie against Pakistan, we saw that it is a bit skin deep, isn't it? The talent that comes in at the next level. Prakash Amritraj is 229 on the singles ranking.

Leander Paes:It has always been a bit of a worry in India where we have never had depth as far as the champions go.

Anuradha SenGuptaWhy is that? You are saying that it is easier now than it was when you started, why is it then that we have got stuck with just your name and Mahesh's and Sania is after that?

Leander Paes:I find that the depth in talent or the depth in the champion quality has not been professionally handled to create a big, well-off talent. We still have only 15-20 singles players in the country, playing on the ATP circuit. Let alone champions, I am saying that the number of players who even play on the ATP circuit or the number of players playing on the WTA circuit, I would probably be four on the WTA circuit or five maximum, and on the ATP circuit for the men, probably about seven or eight. Now, if you go to smaller countries like Sweden, Germany even now Croatia, you have got 15, 20, 40 players playing.

Anuradha SenGupta What is the kind of support that the sporting industry or culture could give?

Leander Paes:We need to set the right kind of environment of professionalism by using Indian therapies like Yoga, meditation, diet and by promoting family bonding to give the athletes emotional support. When you are alone on that field, now in modern sport, even with all the Western training methods that are very essential also - it is a bridge between the East and the West - the most important thing is that the athletes have to feel good about themselves.

It is not just about saying that I am feeling good, but also deep down in their soul they should know that they have done their training, gym work, endurance work, stretching, mental training, match preparation, visualising and planning of the whole year in terms of choosing the four times in a year that an athlete can peak.

Anuradha SenGuptaSo, you are saying that this sort of a planning and professionalism is missing?

Leander Paes:Completely missing. I find that if we go to an Olympics, as a whole nation, we are hoping for champions, we are hoping for medals coming back to the country. But how many people have really gone into specifically training Chilly Rathore to make sure that he brings back a silver medal? You see, sports is not played on chance, it is something that you have to be professional about day in and day out for 15 years, for 20 years.

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Anuradha SenGuptaAnd only then do you get a champion.

Leander Paes:It is only then might you get a champion.

Anuradha SenGupta What do you think of Sania Mirza's career? Do you think that the momentum is slowing down slightly?

Leander Paes:The best thing that Sania is done is that she is a great spokesperson for Indian women. I believe that she has proven that Indian women can excel in any field on international waters too and that is the reason that I do respect her. As far as her tennis abilities go, I find that she is at that crossroad of her career right now where her career is to be made.

Right now, she is ranked in the 30s or the 40s of the WTA circuit. To get into the top 20, which is where I believe the real cream of the WTA circuit is, is going to take a great push. I find that Sania has had quite a few injuries recently, which is a bit of a concern. If I had to advice her, I would say that she needs to concentrate on her physical ability and her training methods to prevent injuries rather than to cure them. On saying that I think that her marketing skills have been excellent, the sponsorships that she has been able to get have been fantastic.

Anuradha SenGuptaYou have spoken of your love for the country how it drives you to do more. This may be an unfair question, but why didn't it drive you to get over whatever problems you and Mahesh had and stick it out a little longer? 1999 was so fleeting, it was there and it was gone.

Leander Paes:For ten years we have been together, we have had magical performances, amazing memories and a lot of respect for each other. And that is something that clearly showed in this last Davis Cup tie and I must say that Mahesh was fantastic with me on Sunday when I was tramping. In the third and fourth set, I really didn't have any energy in reserve and because he knows me so well, he kept me relaxed.

Anuradha SenGuptaSo many relationships break down Leander.

Leander Paes:They don't break down, they evolve. Yes, there was a break down in 2000 between Mahesh and myself, but over time - that is the beauty of the human mind also - that we learnt to evolve. We are survivors, instinctively we make the best of an opportunity and that is something that I also respect about Mahesh and myself that we have actually evolved into a wonderful friendship, into mutual admiration and respect for each other.

Anuradha SenGuptaWhy not get together and give us some grand slams?

Leander Paes:Now at 32 and 33 in age, it is unrealistic to say that we will continue winning those grand slams. And when you have performed at the level at which both Mahesh and myself have performed for the last 10 years, to try and rekindle that or emulate at this age would be silly.

We would be diluting what we have done and at the same time, when it comes to playing for the country, I don't see two more patriotic people in the whole world. Every time he has been called for the Davis Cup, he has been there. Come sore hamstrings, come business opportunities, every time I have asked him for an opinion on who should play, he has given me that opinion and likewise.

Anuradha SenGuptaWhat happened, who were the people who came in between, was it coaches, family, girlfriends, what was it?

Leander Paes:See, there is no point delving into spilt milk or delving into unpleasant memories because that was the past. That was a time that I believe two young men who really got amazing amount of fan following, they achieved excellence bar none at such a young age, so fast and that is what got me at that time to realise that the only thing that could get us away was a misunderstanding. The only thing that could pull us apart was a rivalry, coming from the same nation. The only thing that could really break us up was other people's motives.

Anuradha SenGuptaWas it other people's motives or was it your own immaturity and your own egos that let you both down?

Leander Paes:Exactly, you know, we could sit here and find about a 101 reasons, but at the end of the day it was our responsibility as two grown men. Even though we were young at that age, we had traveled the world, we had learnt the ropes, we were champions, we were number one in the world and Grand Slam winners, and it was our responsibility to make those decisions.

Anuradha SenGuptaYou take the knock.

Leander Paes:Of course you do. And look at our Davis Cup record, 19 successive wins under our belt, that is a world record in itself. And we set a bar for ourselves, we set a target for ourselves to continue achieving for our country. Coming back to your first question, when it does come to playing for the country, we will always be there for you.

Anuradha SenGuptaWe have interviewed you several times, so we have got on record, everything that you have said at the turning points in your life. So, why did you share all that? Your dad is not an extrovert, he is an Olympian, there are other sports people we have met Narain Karthikeyan and Rahul Dravid, they don't share as much as you do. Why is that?

Leander Paes:I think that character and personalities are different. Looking into the Indian scenario of sport, if you talk of Sunny Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, Kapil Dev, Padukone or Vish Anand - all the people that I really respect - they all have different personalities.

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Anuradha SenGuptaDid you need to do it because you need to focus attention on the sport that you were representing, there was so little attention on this game before.

Leander Paes:No real conscious decisions like that, but I felt that my life could be a learning curve for any athlete coming up. So, may be there was a bit thrown in there.

Anuradha SenGuptaThat's on court, what about the life that you lead off the court. You were a playboy Leander.

Leander Paes:Not true. May be my idols, the people that I looked upto - Pele, Mohammed Ali, Nelson Mandela - I wouldn't call the other two apart from Mohammed Ali as extroverts, but they always used their platform for larger causes. Be it the vehicle of sport, be it the vehicle of media. I think that the media is a great vehicle to get your word out there, to create an opportunity for larger causes. I mean look at my orphanage, Future Hope. I have been working with Future Hope since I was a little kid.

Anuradha SenGuptaI saw how you so easily and diplomatically left that lob about being a playboy. What makes you feel confident about a relationship, about the fact that you would go from being a single person with no family liabilities to being a father, it is a big step?

Leander Paes:I think that sometimes the media poke their nose where they don't belong. I find that with my profession, me as an individual, in terms of my profession, is open to any amount of scrutiny, any amount of media coverage or any amount of learning curve of criticism, call it what you want.

Anuradha SenGuptaYou have shared about where you are in life with us in the past, that is why there is a sense I guess - and I am not defending anybody who has no scruples – there is therefore a sense of ownership.

Leander Paes:But that in itself is wrong. In life, do we own anything? Do you own the threads on your back right now?

Anuradha SenGuptaNo.

Leander Paes:Do you covet the people you love? Do you own the child that you have? Or for the time that you have with that person, that ability to share? My spirituality is a bit different and I feel that basically in life, there is a time and place for everything. And with my tennis, there is a window.

So I am very passionate about my tennis for that window that I have got it for. With my relationship with a human being, I will be very very passionate about that relationship to the best of my knowledge. But it is not for anybody to agree or disagree to. I am not poking my nose into other people's business. I am not a yardstick to say this is right or wrong. I am living my life to the best that I know how. And sure I'll have some great triumphs and sure I'll make some big blunders, but at the end of the day I know, I have done the best that I can.

Anuradha SenGuptaDo you want to answer my question about when do you realise that a relationship is strong enough to go and have a baby, because a lot of young people are in that situation, a lot of single people are in that situation.

Leander Paes:I think that a relationship is very sacred. It is between two individual people who share a mutual bond, who share a mutual respect, who share an immense amount of love that there is no reason to explain to anybody else. I find that the god-given gift of a child is something to be so celebrated.

It is a responsibility as a father to set the environment for the child to excel in what ever she wants to. For me, being a natural born leader, the position of a father, husband or a partner, is something that is a perfect platform for me to celebrate my love. I am not going to sit here and explain it because I think that each one of us has our own expression.

Anuradha SenGuptaYou have a daughter, have you got used to the feeling?

Leander Paes:Everyday is a learning experience.

Anuradha SenGuptaCan I give you a little bit of advice as a daughter who has managed to twirl her father around her little finger, you have got a rough ride ahead of you.

Leander Paes:A beautiful ride.

Anuradha SenGuptaLeander Paes, we wish you lots of passion and all the very best.

Leander Paes:Thank you.