Paes reaches out to Vardhan
NEW DELHI: Leander Paes may have wondered whether his new partner, Vishnu Vardhan, even has a pair of grasscourt shoes, but the doubles veteran is hoping that they put their best foot forward at the London Olympics.
Paes, currently playing at Wimbledon, and the All India Tennis Association (AITA) want to get the youngster ready ahead of the mega event. Vardhan will join Paes at Wimbledon later in the week and then accompany him to the USA, where Paes will be playing in World Team Tennis.
“The AITA is currently in the process of acquiring Olympics accreditation and visa for Vishnu so that he can join Leander at Wimbledon as soon as possible,” Dr Vece Paes, Leander’s father, told the HT.
Vardhan, 24, won two back-toback Futures titles last month, and Paes believes his game, built around a strong serve, could be honed to make him a strong doubles prospect for India. “It is a challenge,” said Paes. “I have never played with him before. The whole idea behind this trip is to get him to know personally and to get some sort of rhythm on the tennis court.”
TEAMING UP
The pair is hoping to get at least 4-5 days of practice at Wimbledon before leaving for the USA.
The World Team Tennis is a city-based franchise competition where some of the best names from the past and present will compete from July 9-28. They will be in the States for two weeks. In the first week, the players tour around the country while in the second they will be based in Washington.
If nothing else, Vardhan can prepare to rub shoulders with the marquee names in the game. Paes plays for Washington Kastles, who also have the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, on board. Though the competition is held on hard courts, Vece Paes believes that any practice together before heading back to the Wimbledon grass for Olympics is essential.
LITTLE TIME
“That is just how it has happened. They have roughly about a month to prepare. In tennis, most of the tuning in doubles is done during matches and not practice. But they don’t have that luxury; there are no tour events before the Olympics. So whatever time he has, Leander wants to make the best out of it,” added Dr Paes.
“No one is expecting them to win. But even if they can put up a respectable performance and go a couple of rounds into the draw — that’s what they are looking for.”
Playing his sixth Olympics, and possibly the last, the time to bring home that elusive doubles medal is running out but Paes is not ready to give up without a fight.