Leander Paes celebrated his ninth Grand Slam doubles! Seems like this guy never slow down!
Paes teamed with Lukas Dlouhy to capture the French Open title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman.
It was 35-year-old Paes's fifth men's doubles Grand Slam. He has also won four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, including the 2003 Wimbledon and Australian Open trophies with Martina Navratilova.
Navratilova was spotted at the stand sitting next to Bill Gates. "Martina has been a soulmate for many years. We've been through a lot in life, especially me in the last eight years. She's been along with me, supporting me, guiding me at times," said Paes.
"When I was diagnosed with cancer and I couldn't play, she basically stayed away from the game and didn't play mixed doubles until I came back."
"Whenever I look at a person like Navratilova, she gives me a lot of inspiration. It was strange that just at the end of the second set when we were getting a bit nervous and a bit edgy, she came out there and was just making eye contact."
"Lukas served three doubles faults early in the third set. I told him at one point, Martina is out there. Come on. Have a look at her. She's inspiring us."
Paes and Dlouhy first teamed up at Roland Garros last year, losing in the last 16 to eventual champions Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna. They then finished runners-up to Mike and Bob Bryan in the 2008 US Open final."We started playing together at Roland Garros last year. We lost then to the champions so we made it a point that we would come back and try and win it this year," added Paes.
Judging from the way they celebrated their win by hugging and hoisting each other into the air, they'll probably stick around for more Grand Slam moments like this.
In the women's doubles, Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual won their second consecutive French Open women's doubles title by beating Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1 on Friday.
(Via AP; Images by Patrick Kovarik/Matthew Stockman/AFP/Getty Images)
Olympic champion Elena Dementieva eased to a 6-4 6-1 victory over fellow Russian Elena Vesnina to capture the Auckland Classic title today.
Dementieva, 27, wrapped up the victory in just 88 minutes and completed the tournament without dropping a set. What a great start for the long tennis season. “I played some good tennis, especially in the semi-final and final. It’s been a great beginning of the year,” she told a news conference.
The win was world number four Dementieva’s 12th title of her career and fourth in the last 12 months, highlighted by winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in August.
The unseeded Vesnina, 22, was playing in her first WTA final after teaming up with Dementieva in the doubles.
“Maybe I was bit tired,” she said.
“It was long week for me, a lot of long matches. Maybe I was a bit nervous today.”
(Via Reuter; Images via sports.sina.com)
Russia won its fourth Fed Cup in five years Sunday, defeating Spain when Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the title.
The victory gave Russia an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the top team event in women’s tennis.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Kuznetsova said. “Even though I wasn’t playing my best game, it’s so important for me to win this point for the team.”
The Russians made it 4-0 when Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova downed Nuria Llagostera Vives and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-1 in doubles.
Kuznetsova used powerful ground strokes to race ahead 4-0 in the first set. Medina Garrigues regrouped to lead 6-5 and served out the set on a clear sunny day at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid’s clay court.
The players traded breaks to reach 3-3 in the second set before Kuznetsova won three straight games to even the match. She then got a late break in the third to secure the victory.
“She’s a player who puts great weight on her deliveries,” Medina Garrigues said. “I gave it my all.”
Kuznetsova was confident her stamina would carry her against an opponent who refused to wilt.“I gave her a chance to get back,” she said. “I started to play a little bit of baseline tennis against her game. I felt so much more energy. knew my fitness was better.”
On Saturday, Vera Zvonareva beat Medina Garrigues, and Kuznetsova defeated Carla Suarez Navarro.
(Via Yahoo! Sports)
Leander Paes celebrated his ninth Grand Slam doubles! Seems like this guy never slow down! 
Navratilova was spotted at the stand sitting next to Bill Gates. 
In the women's doubles, Spaniards Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual won their second consecutive French Open women's doubles title by beating Victoria Azarenka and Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1 on Friday.
