In a weekend of superlatives at Wimbledon, Leander Paes held his own. The Williams sisters kept the women’s final between them, never mind those who may be top seeded without significant Grand Slam Success. Roger Federer reminded us how the golden age of tennis bears the marks of his copious tears. And Leander Paes, reaching the mixed doubles final to make a bid for his tenth Grand Slam, showed that a decade need not be a long time in sport and that, at 36, he’s staked a claim to being the best doubles player of all time.

Doubles tennis is an arena for a unique kind of commitment. And Paes, in keeping himself in the hunt for the biggest prizes for so long, is its unique ambassador. Played on the smaller courts in the big tournaments, it’s a test of team spirit, versatility and largeheartedness. Of course these are qualities he showed even before 1999, Indian tennis’s most remarkable year when Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reached all the four Grand Slam finals, winning the French Open and Wimbledon. At the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, he made his talent go that longer bit to give India its first individual medal in decades. The Olympics are not tennis’s biggest prize, but that tennis bronze hinted at India’s unique association with the sport: its players did so much better when they were wearing the India jersey.

Perhaps that accounts for the overwhelming criticism Paes and Bhupathi got for falling out, for taking their game forward with other partners. The criticism may have been unfair, but the twosome has shown grace to occasionally hush differences, as they did for the Beijing Games. And watching Paes this summer, you almost believe them when they say he’ll be there at London, 2012.