A year before he won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2005, Rafa made his debut in India at the Chennai Open.
Leander Paes, who became the oldest man to clinch a Grand Slam title in the Open era after winning the men's doubles crown with Radek Setpanek at the just-concluded US Open, says it is because of his former mixed doubles partner Martina Navratilova that he has been able to prolong his career.
Sania Mirza set herself up for her first-ever women's doubles Grand Slam title, while seasoned pro Leander Paes is now one win away from his 16th Major trophy as the two Indians reached the Wimbledon finals with their respective partners.
Both Balaji and Bhambri have got some decent results on clay in lead up to the Roland Garros, where the action will unfold during the Summer Olympics from July 27.
Leander Paes was, on Saturday, gracious in defeat and conceded that Czech player Adam Pavlasek played "phenomenal" tennis in the Davis Cup doubles game in New Delhi.
While every other team practises their hardest in the few hours left for the Rio Olympics 2016, the Indian contingent was left looking for rooms, extra pair of jerseys and assembling chairs.
As a new and unique brand of tennis makes its debut in the country with a mix of Indian and international stars, veteran Leander Paes says the Champions Tennis League, for him, is about building bonds and new friendships.
Leander Paes and his Canadian partner Dainel Nestor advanced to the second round of the men's doubles at Wimbledon, beating the Serbian pair of Victor Troicki and Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 after an hour and 42 minutes on Wednesday.
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