12 June,2025 08:47 AM IST | Mumbai | Ashwin Ferro
Leander Paes. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
It's an open secret that India's most successful Grand Slam-winning tennis ace Leander Paes, who played across a record seven Olympic Games, owed his longevity to his supreme physical fitness. But, according to Paes, mental strength trumps physicality in the current era, and it is this strong will that helped USA's Coco Gauff and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz emerge French Open champions recently.
Gauff rallied from a set down to beat World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4 in the women's final, while Alcaraz fought back from two sets down to beat World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2).
"What Coco and Carlos have achieved at this French Open final is almost abnormal. To win is one thing, but to do it with such a fightback and on this huge stage is absolutely unbelievable," Paes, an 18-time Grand Slam-winner (eight in doubles and 10 in mixed doubles), told mid-day on Wednesday.
While the world remains in awe of the strength and stamina of the two champions - Gauff won in two hours and 38 minutes while Alcaraz prevailed in five hours and 29 minutes - Paes stressed on the significance of mind over matter.
"You surely need physical fitness to compete, but to win like this and that too against two World No. 1 superstars, you need mental toughness. You need that kind of resilience when you are up against such powerful opposition. It just goes to show how brave both Coco and Carlos are. And the fact that they are just 21 and 22 years of makes their achievement even more special. To show such amazing levels of emotional stability by staging a comeback and winning so strategically was just perfect. Both the finals were classics," added Paes, India's only Olympic medal-winner in tennis.
The crowd factor is another driving force at Paris, said Paes. During the men's final, there were loud chants of âLet's go Carlos' and âVamos, Carlos' reverberating across Centre Court. "The French crowd is very educative, they know their tennis, and they always tend to support the underdog. So, initially, when Carlos was down, they cheered for him, but later when they saw that he was fighting back, they realised that they're going to get their money's worth here, so in the fifth set, the spectators were actually cheering for Sinner too. I've been there and I can tell you that this support can really drive an athlete," said Paes a four-time winner at the French Open (1999, 2001, 2009 in doubles and 2016 in mixed doubles).
Finally, Paes, the first Asian player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame last year, was happy to see a new rivalry take shape. "Earlier it was [Pete] Sampras and [Andre] Agassi, then came Rafa [Nadal], [Roger] Federer and Djoko [Novak Djokovic] and now it's Jannik and Carlos. Gauff is also right up there as a fighter. There is a sign at the Court Phillipe Chatrier that reads âVictory belongs to the most tenacious.' This is so apt for our new champions," Paes concluded.
