At the age of 40, Leander Paes has won everything that a tennis player dreams of but the Indian tennis legend wants to keep going and play in his seventh Olympics Games.
Paes, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Monday, is considered one of the greatest tennis players in the world with 13 Grand Slam titles.
- Leander Paes forty and still firing
He is the only tennis player in the world who has featured in six consecutive Olympics. But the Indian says he still has a lot of fire in his belly to improve his game and play in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
"At this stage my showcase is full, I have earned enough to support my family. I have got to a stage, where I have a career Slam, that is epitome of my career. At this stage why I still want to play is that I want to keep getting better. Fitness wise I want to push myself to get to seventh Olympics, which is three years down the line," Paes told NDTV.
Paes said he will reunite with his Czech partner Radek Stepanek, with whom he won the Australian Open last year to complete his career Slam.
An injury to Stepanek followed by surgery forced Paes to look for other partners but he didn't achieve much success with his other partners.
Paes, whose has dropped out of the top 10, said he is looking forward to play with Stepanek again. They will start with a tournament in England, which will be a warm up for the Wimbledon.
The veteram said this birthday was special since his daughter prepared a chocolate cake for him.
Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com
