Sheer PAES

All my decisions revolve around the Olympics, he says. I take two years to prepare,training the mind and body,getting muscular legs. The Grand Slam wins and the Davis Cup campaigns have,of course,been memorable,but as a kid I coveted the Olympics because my dad participated in them.

London 2012 could be Paess historic sixth,and that would see him surpass the great Brit rower Steve Redgrave in the sheer number of quadrennials attended. But Paes is acutely aware and the wooden coffee table he knocks repeatedly would testify to just how acute that the Olympics is still some time away and even a small injury could end that dream.

The 37-year-old has at least one Wimbledon title to show for each of the three decades he has played there: the 1990 boys singles,the 1999 mens and mixed doubles titles and the championship this July. And only Rod Laver for company in this feat. But it is five straight Olympics,and a possible sixth,that lend him pride in his 23 long years of achievement.

London does not look improbable Paes looked like an exuberant teenager at Wimbledon,and the mind could now be drilled into believing its all about the Olympics. But the body has to survive the rigours of the tour week in,week out,for two more years. Im proud to say Ive never had a tennis-related surgery in all these years, says Paes,who has moved from Bangalore to Mumbai,now city-mate with Sachin Tendulkar,born in 1973 too and gunning for his sixth World Cup.

The sore shoulder may occasionally crib when he wakes up,but Paes has lasted the distance on his superior fitness. Training has moved from sprint to core development to flexibility. When the muscles declared they had been worked enough to stay rock-solid,Paes went about insuring the connecting tendons. We use kinetic rubber bands to work the tendons. After years of playing,the muscles bulk and wont give away; its the joining points that could snap. So we keep them well-oiled, he says,the we being him and trainer of 17 years,Dave Herman.

Paes says he doesnt like tags,except Lion-Heart the literal meaning of Leander. But at the start of his career,when he was a sprinting,whirring bloke,they labelled him Batman for his speed and running on the court. Recently,Brett Stephens (Cara Blacks husband and fitness expert) anointed him Speedy Gonzales,the Looney Tunes character known as the fastest mouse in all Mexico. Speed has been essential,he says. Since I was a kid,I knew I didnt have the technique of a tennis player, says Paes. I was always someone whod jump,turn,stop,sprint,run diagonal and,by the way,hit the ball too. I was never trained to play a technically sound game. My style of play was serve-volley,with speed and fast legs. I approached tennis like an athlete or a football player,and all I could do was stay injury-free and very strong.

The Olympics dream tipped the balance in favour of tennis over football. Little Leander bid goodbye to a scholarship with a soccer club (and a citizenship) in the Netherlands,and locked tight the daydream of a football World Cup final and its accompanying confetti. Instead,in 1996,Paes put himself through one of his sternest regimens and put out Brazilian Fernando Meligeni for the bronze medal in tennis in Atlanta. Id won six-seven Challengers going into the Olympics and worked really hard,careful not to get injured, he says.

He thanks his parents for passing on the right genes,down to the fast-twitch fibres,the hand-eye coordination and an environment of sporting excellence. Dad,doctor and former hockey player Vece Paes,put him on yoga,meditation and right eating. Theres discipline in everything in the way I eat,in the way I dont smoke or drink, he says,adding it wasnt easy to tame a Bengalis sweet tooth. Hes still put through the candy-temptation test when manager Sidd Chandra wolfs down sandesh or texts that he has polished off mishti doi. But Paes has lived the tennis ascetics life without his favourite colas and sweets. His meals are mostly vegetarian except for the bites of essential river fish and some lean meats. Occasionally,there is his comfort food: an indulgent bowl of Maggi.

This discipline will form the fulcrum of the future Leander Foundation that will teach children to be better athletes,right down to diet and lifestyle. Indian sportsmen are high on intellect,but fall short on physical parameters, he says.
Hes played 23 Grand Slam finals and notched six titles apiece in doubles and mixed doubles,but he wont stretch his career. After years of excellence,I wouldnt want to be mediocre,or be stuck someplace in the lower rungs of tennis. If I wake up 31 days,feeling jaded,not wanting to get on to the court and not feeling passionate enough,Ill stop on the 32nd day, he says.

Travel hours,the scourge of a tennis pro,have been converted into learning hours: reading books,watching films and starting conversations with people. Theres no point agonising over travelling. Ive seen a flight take off from Hong Kong and crash-land in the ocean,and had many experiences of missing baggage (a French Open trophy has yet to be reclaimed), he says,adding that the past four years have been the most enjoyable,travelling with wife Rhea and daughter Aiyana,after years of boarding and deplaning alone. Im very possessive about my time with my daughter, he says. He starts his weekdays in Mumbai by dropping her off to school.

The big days of a Slam have remained unchanged all these years. When everyone is hustling around,I get my body,mind and soul centred. Focussed. The night before I load up on pasta and fluids,then look up the opponent,do a thorough SWOT on him,and keep Plans A,B,C and D ready, he says. If you get to Plan F,well,youve failed and dont deserve to win anyways! he laughs.
As a corollary,opponents have,to their own peril,realised the futility of drawing this supremely fit man into tennis marathons. Longer the set,nervier the match,it tends to be,usually,Advantage Leander.