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The legendary Leander Paes on Wednesday lamented the decline of Indian tennis, describing it as part of the "circle of life" while emphasising the need for patience. The Indian team endured a 0-4 defeat against Sweden in its Davis Cup World Group I tie recently, which relegated them to the play-off stage for the upcoming year. "Like anything in life, when you go up, you have to come down, and then you come back up again. I am a big believer in the circle of life," the former world No 1 in doubles said. "I think we all need to have a little bit of patience as far as tennis goes. We have all enjoyed such an upswing over the last 40 years, proving that we can be number one in both women's doubles and men's doubles." Currently, Sumit Nagal is the only Indian player in the top 100 of the ATP men's singles rankings, positioned at 83, while Ramkumar Ramanathan follows at 332. At 44 years, Rohan Bopanna remains the flag-bearer of men's doubles in India, currently ranked sixth, with anothe
Legendary Indian tennis players, Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj, the heroes of many a historic triumph transcending generations, on Sunday became the first two exponents of the sport from Asia to be inducted into the International Hall of Fame. Paes, 51, whose list of achievements include the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games men's singles bronze, eight men's doubles and 10 mixed doubles grand slam crowns besides several famed Davis Cup victories, was given the rare honour in the 'Player Category'. Vijay Amritraj, 70, reached the men's singles quarterfinals at the Wimbledon and US Open twice each besides guiding India to the Davis Cup finals twice -- in 1974 and 1987. At his peak, he was ranked No.18 in the world in singles and No. 23 in doubles. He along with Richard Evans was inducted into the Hall of fame in the 'Contributor Category'. "Paes was inducted in the Player Category, while Amritraj and Evans were recognised as a part of the Contributor Category: honoring visionary leaders,
Indian tennis icon Leander Paes on Monday said he is eyeing a French Open comeback this year in his quest to make a record eighth appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. "Playing sport in a bio-bubble is very tough and may not be the best thing to do. I got a grand farewell at the Australian Open last year so I felt this year I would be sitting out and watching," Paes said. The Olympic bronze medallist in singles and multiple-time doubles Grand Slam winners was speaking during the launch of a cricket tournament named after his father Dr Vece Paes, a bronze winner at the 1972 Olympics. "I hope that by the time of French Open, by the end of May, Europe will get to a better position than now." On the Christmas Day of 2019, Paes had announced his "One Last Roar" tagline, calling 2020 to be his last season as a professional player, culminating with the T