Even the fans know it. That Leander Paes has been around for a while. A middle-aged American couple watching him in action during his first-round men's doubles contest at Wimbledon on Thursday wondered what his age might be.
FYI, Paes is 44. "See, I knew it. He has been playing for a long time," the American woman quipped. Yes, Paes has been playing for a long time; in fact he made his Wimbledon debut in 1993, before some of the players on the circuit were born. You have to tip your hat to Paes for the grit and fire that have kept him going, but now that's not enough to help him maintain a top ranking or win a Grand Slam.
The last time Paes won a Grand Slam men's doubles title was at the 2013 US Open with Radek Stepanek. The last Grand Slam Paes won was with Martina Hingis at Roland Garros last year in the mixed doubles. Paes' ranking, too, has plummeted since his win in 2013. When he won the title he was ranked No. 6, which slid to 10 by the end of that year. His year-end rankings since have been 29, 41 and 59; his current ranking is 62.
Reflexes and hand-eye-coordination have been Paes' natural strengths, skills that were the backbone of his game when he was at the top. His swift movement improved his overall court coverage and when he was at the net the ball could rarely pass him. But the Paes on Thursday, partnering Adil Shamasdin against the all-Austrian team of Julian Knowle and Philip Oswald, was different.
Tennis does not let you hide your age, especially your fitness. Paes is fit, but no longer the Duracell bunny he once was.
He retains the drive, still has the hunger. And is reluctant to admit that he has slowed down. "Without emphasising on age, you emphasise on the body and the mind. Because at the end of the day the mind feels what the body feels. The body feels what the mind feels. I won my last Grand Slam last year. People are trying their whole lives to win one. I just set a benchmark that high where all of you all expect to win two or three," Paes said.
Paes showed glimpses of his strengths, especially at the net, where he was solid, patient, using soft yet firm hands to flick, push, and guide the ball over. But as Knowle/Oswald took the match deeper and overcame the pressure in the third set, the errors started to creep in. Paes lost his serve for the first time in the eight game of the third, giving an opening for the Austrian pair, who grabbed the set 6-2.
In the fourth, Paes was broken again, first in the eighth game and then during the tie-breaker, by when the exhaustion was visible. The hands and legs were stiff. At one point, Paes berated himself: "Come on, move those damn legs," as he failed to pick an inside-out crosscourt forehand at the baseline from Knowle.
This is what we saw and sensed from the outside. Paes, though, looks at it differently. Here's what he said about the match: "We comfortably won the first two sets. In the third set we got off to a bit of a slow start. But then at 4-3 we had a chance to break them at 0-40. At that stage we were in a completely commanding position. We are up two sets to love. They have played two hours. They have to win another three sets. You have got 0-40. You win one of those points you are in the driver's seat. But at that stage they hit three big serves, won the game. Won the set.
"Even in the fourth set we had seven games on our return of serve where they were serving 0-30. That means we had kept on the pressure on them, kept on the pressure on them, non-stop. They got out of those positions. They handled the pressure well."
This was the first Grand Slam match together for Paes and his Canadian partner. From the outside, one felt there were times when Shamasdin, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year, might have played a shot at the net too early, a shot that was for Paes to play. Although Paes felt their understanding was very strong considering they'd played three tournaments prior to Wimbledon, he knows that it's a risk involved on the doubles circuit. He can only motivate his partner, but that partner is going to fall short of his expectations at times.
"People are trying their whole lives to win one Grand Slam. I set a benchmark that high where all of you all expect to win two or three."
Paes is proud that his body can sustain a four-hour match in blistering heat against players who are 10-15 years younger. "To go out there and to play 10-8 in the fifth. And fight. To really bloody fight, physically and mentally, takes a crazy amount of passion and drive. Yes, through the years your serve might lose a little power. You work on the slice serve. Through your career your speed might get a little slower, but you work on your anticipation. You have to keep adjusting your game. I am always looking to get better."
But no amount of improvisation will cover up the limitations. Still, Paes wants to keep going. His initial goal is to get into the top 30, which would allow him to find a better partner. But it's not easy; to get there he would need to play a lot of Challengers and minor tournaments, which could leave him exhausted by the time the Grand Slams arrive.
And even if he gets there, how many of the top doubles players would want to pair up with, commit to, a player in his mid-40s?
The answer, perhaps, is to keep pushing his own limits. "Every year I see what else I can do, what else have I not achieved."
What else is there to achieve? "This year we have not won anything. So now I play for myself. I play because I have fun playing."