The dynamic Indian Tennis star said: “People in Kolkata have given me the strength to live my dream, my father was my best friend and motivator and specifically getting this award at this age need lots of hard work.”
Speaking on his upcoming tournament, he said: “Having won the French Open title in the past I am looking forward to play it.”
“It takes lots of hard work and both Mahesh (Bhupathi) and I have worked hard to adjust and understand ourselves. In our second innings we have taken one tournament at a time,” Paes said on his pairing with Bhupathi.
“I am blessed in my career to have played with so many doubles partners and mixed doubles partners. Mahesh plays the best cross court in the entire world.
Speaking on Olympic that will be held in London in 2012 Leander said that he feels that playing at the grass court of Wimbledon will be an advantage for him during the Games as he had played there lot of time in his career.
“I think it is good to play at the grass court of Wimbledon. Olympic will be on grass court so it will be really good,” he said.
He also mentioned that the senior India sportspersons like Sachin Tendulkar or Mahesh Bhupathi are driven by their mental strength to play such exceptionally well for the country even at this age.
Paes will play at the Spanish and the Italian Open before stepping on to the court for the French Open in the days to come.
Photos Avishek Mitra/IBNS