Paes-Dlouhy fight back to win French Open doubles
Indian Leander Paes and his Czech doubles partner Lukas Dlouhy fought back from one-set down to lift the French Open doubles title. The title is their first Grand Slam win as a doubles pair.
THE DOUBLES pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy battled back from a first set loss to lift their first Grand Slam title as a doubles pair. 35-year-old Paes and his Czech partner Dlouhy scripted a thrilling 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over the Belgian-South African pair of Dick Norman and Wesley Moodie.
The match saw a tense moment in the third game when a volley struck by Belgian Norman caught Paes between his eyes.
Paes had to take an injury break to use an ice pack at a point in the match when the pair were already down in the first set. The doubles pair lost that set but fought back from the second set onwards, dominating their service games and executing accurate volleys.
The match was witnessed by women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova, with whom Paes has won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. Paes credited her presence in the audience for helping them turn around the match. He said, “It was strange that just at the end of the second set when we were getting a bit nervous and a bit edgy, she came out there and was just making eye contact. Lukas served three doubles faults early in the third set. I told him at one point, Martina is out there. Come on. Have a look at her. She's inspiring us."
The French Open doubles title is Dlouhy's first Grand Slam win and Paes' fifth men's doubles and his third at the Roland Garros.
Paes had to take an injury break to use an ice pack at a point in the match when the pair were already down in the first set. The doubles pair lost that set but fought back from the second set onwards, dominating their service games and executing accurate volleys.
The match was witnessed by women's tennis legend Martina Navratilova, with whom Paes has won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles. Paes credited her presence in the audience for helping them turn around the match. He said, “It was strange that just at the end of the second set when we were getting a bit nervous and a bit edgy, she came out there and was just making eye contact. Lukas served three doubles faults early in the third set. I told him at one point, Martina is out there. Come on. Have a look at her. She's inspiring us."
The French Open doubles title is Dlouhy's first Grand Slam win and Paes' fifth men's doubles and his third at the Roland Garros.
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