By TERRY MADDAFORD in Melbourne
It was not quite the fairytale ending he had hoped for, but in even reaching yesterday's Australian Open mixed doubles final, Leander Paes had defied the odds to rekindle his amazing career.
Six and a half months after being forced out of the sport with what was
feared to be a career-ending brain lesion, Paes and long-time mixed doubles partner Martina Navratilova played another final.
That the fourth-seeded defending champions lost 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) to the unseeded pairing of Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) and his Russian partner Elena Bovina was of little concern.
Paes would love to have won "for Martina's sake", but was more than happy just to be able to be with her in her Australian swansong.
The Australian Open out of the way - but with the remaining three grand slams still in their sights in 47-year-old Navratilova's last hurrah - Paes is also looking to India's Davis Cup tie against New Zealand in Invercargill.
Paes is honoured to be given the chance to lead his country in a tie - as captain and a player. Most cup teams have a non-playing captain to call the shots.
This week's tie marks 14 years at that level for Paes, who is poised to overtake Ramanathan Krishnan as India's most experienced cup player.
"I am lucky enough to have done it all," said 30-year-old Paes. "I started out as a ballboy when Krishnan was playing.
"Part of my role now is to help the young players."
Paes, who as a youngster turned his back on the chance to play soccer at top Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, is proud to represent his country's more than one billion people.
"My calling was really soccer, but to go to Holland would have meant giving up my Indian passport. I was not prepared to do that."
His father, Vece, was a member of the bronze medal-winning hockey team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. His mother, Jennifer, played basketball at the same Games.
"I was conceived during those Olympics," said Paes. "Later I promised my father I would play at four Olympics. I still want to achieve that."
He won a singles bronze at Atlanta in 1996 and had the honour of carrying the Indian flag at the opening ceremony in Sydney four years later.
But when he was sidelined last year he doubted whether that Olympic dream would be realised.
"It has been tough coming back but pretty much I'm putting it behind me. I get reminded about it every so often but now, it's a dream to be here.
"Six months ago it was a long shot. To make the final was amazing. By believing in yourself and with a little bit of hard work, you can pretty much do anything."
The atmosphere, and temperature, in Invercargill will be a far cry from centre court at Melbourne Park.
While he has played little or no singles, Paes is likely to take one of the singles spots. He will also team with India's most successful doubles player, Mahesh Bhupathi, in doubles.
The biggest challenge is selecting the second singles player. That is likely to fall to Harsh Mankad - ranked 329 in the world and beaten by New Zealand No 1 Mark Nielsen in 2002.
The newcomer in the Indian team is Vishal Puna, ranked 827, about the same as New Zealand No 2 Simon Rea.
Given India's almost certain domination in doubles, singles hold the key. New Zealand non-playing captain Bruce Derlin (on debut) last night indicated he will use either Daniel King-Turner or Rea as the No 2 singles player.
India do not appear as strong as the teams who won 4-1 away in 2002 and at home last year.
By TERRY MADDAFORD in Melbourne
It was not quite the fairytale ending he had hoped for, but in even reaching yesterday's Australian Open mixed doubles final, Leander Paes had defied the odds to rekindle his amazing career.
Six and a half months after being forced out of the sport with what was
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