Australian Open: Journey ends for Leander Paes, knocked out of mixed doubles in 2nd round

Veteran Indian Tennis player Leander Paes has played his last Australian Open as he was knocked out in the second round of the mixed doubles.

He and his Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko were defeated by the American-British pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray 6-2, 7-5. 

Paes and Ostapenko won 56 per cent points on their first serve, whereas the team of Mettek-Sands and Murray won a converted 82 per cent. 

In Round 1, Paes and Ostapenko erased a one-set deficit to edge out Storm Sanders and Marc Polmans 6-7(4), 6-3, 10-6. 

Paes had announced that 2020 is his final year on the Pro circuit.

Paes has won eight doubles and ten mixed doubles Grand Slam titles in his career spanning for nearly three decades.

The 46-year-old became the only second man after Rod Laver to win a Grand Slam in three different decades. 

He is also the only Indian to win an Olympics tennis medal till date.

“It has been a very blessed career.  It has been a very blessed profession for me. There are so many other things that are left to do so now.”

Paes holds the record of winning the most Davis Cup doubles title. He has also been bestowed with India’s illustrious sports awards like the Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards.