Still learning nuances of tennis from Hingis, says Paes
Wimbledon, July 13 (IANS) Indian tennis ace Leander Paes has said that despite winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles title at the ripe age of 42, he continues to be a keen student of the game and has learnt a lot playing alongside his mixed doubles partner Martina Hingis.
Seeded seventh, Paes and Hingis joined hands to thrash the Austrian-Hungarian fifth seeded pair of Alexander Peya and Timea Babos 6-1, 6-1 in only 40 minutes in the final at the Centre Court here on Sunday. It was Paes's 16th Major trophy.
"In tennis, Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis are right at the top. Hingis probably has the best groundstrokes or return of serves I have ever seen. I still learn from her," Paes was quoted as saying by The Guardian on Sunday. "They're both the two greatest female athletes in the planet that we have had in any sport," he said.
Hingis earlier won the women's doubles title partnering India's Sania Mirza on Saturday.
Hailing Hingis, Paes said: "Everyone knows what Martina has achieved over the years at Wimbledon. To come out there and do it back to back, the physical and mental effort that it takes to win two titles in the same week, is something really, really special."