When Leander Paes agonisingly kicked the Arthur Ashe court on his way out, he was aware that he and Meghann Shaugnessy had blown a 6-2 second set tie-breaker lead to hand Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka the mixed doubles title at the US Open last night. Paes and Meghann lost 4-6, 6-7(6).

The loss meant he lost out, for the second time, to capture the only mixed doubles title he does not possess. In 2001 Paes, with Lisa Raymond, had lost to Todd Woodbridge and Rennae Stubbs.

Boasting of seven Grand Slam titles—four men’s doubles and three mixed—Paes admitted that it was “opportunity lost.”

To get career Grand Slam in doubles, Paes will have to win the men’s doubles in Australia and the mixed at French and the US Open.

On his partnership with Meghann—who reached her first Slam final—Paes said: “Results speak. We wish to carry forward this run and Meghann is game for it. Meghann was excellent all through this tournament.”

To put Paes’ opinion in perspective, Meghann during the first set did well to return Mirnyi’s 137mph blinder—which incidentally was recorded as the fastest serve of the match.

Paes said: “I think we had a fair chance to win.” While the Indo-American pair split $70,000 prize money, for Paes it meant playing bridesmaid for the fourth time in the mixed doubles event at Slams—a stat that goes unnoticed.