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Updated October 28th, 2019 at 21:11 IST

Leander Paes: Check out his famous Davis Cup victories for India

Leander Paes who made his debut in 1990 alongside former India Davis Cup team captain Zeeshan Ali, holds the record for most doubles win in Davis Cup (43 wins).

Reported by: Suraj Alva
Leander Paes
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Indian tennis legend Leander Paes is one of India's most successful Davis Cup players. Having made his debut in 1990 alongside former India Davis Cup team captain Zeeshan Ali, Paes now holds the record for most doubles wins in the Davis Cup (43 wins),  going past Italian legend Nicola Pietrangeli. He also developed a succesful partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi in doubles and were known as the 'Indian Express' on the international tennis circuit.  

Today we look at Paes' best Davis Cup wins over the years -

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Davis Cup 1996: India vs Netherlands

The Davis Cup encounter was tied at 1-1. With the pressure on India, Paes responded with a 7-6(2) 2-6 7-6(3) 7-6(5), four sets win over Jan Siemerink, which included three tie-breaks. As luck would have it, Bhupathi won the final rubber after Jacco Eltingh retired after being 2-1 down in the match.

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Davis Cup 1997: India vs Chile 

The tie saw Leander Paes along with Mahesh Bhupathi playing all five rubbers of the tie. Paes won his singles match beating Gabriel Silberstein 6-3 6-2 6-2.

In the doubles match, Paes and Bhupathi beat the pair of Massu and Rios 3-6, 6-3 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 in a five-set thriller. 

However, the final match was to be the decider, which was won by India, claiming a 3-2 finish.

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Davis Cup 2006: India vs Pakistan Asia/Oceania relegation play-off

The tie was levelled at 1-1 with Paes and Bhupathi winning their doubles match to give India a 2-1 lead. In the deciding game, Leander Paes decided to fight the battle for India. Paes brought all his experience into play and won the last set 6-1 in the final match to win the tie for India.

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Davis Cup 2007: India vs Kazhakstan Asia/Oceania relegation play-off

Even though India lost the tie, it was a nail-biting affair. With the tie levelled at 1-1, the doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes regained the lead for India after a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 straight-sets victory. With the scores level at 2-2, Paes stepped upon to take the initiative for India once again. The Indian star won the final match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to beat Kazakhstan.

Davis Cup 2010: India vs Brazil World Group play-offs

This was the match when India showed their fighting spirit after being down by two games. Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman had lost their singles matches and the team was on the verge of getting knocked out.  But when needed most,  Leander Paes along with Mahesh Bhupathi stepped up and pulled one back by winning their doubles match in straight sets. It was crucial in giving India another 3-2 win in Davis Cup history.

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Published October 28th, 2019 at 19:40 IST

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