Number nine powers Paes to mixed and doubled final

Why Leander Paes would not have to think hard before naming his own sports clothing line

Number nine powers Paes to mixed and doubled final

Why Leander Paes would not have to think hard before naming his own sports clothing line

Leander Paes has done it again! Having made it a habit to reach the finals of the year's four Grand Slams consistently, the 36-year-old tennis legend has just doubled the stakes.u00a0

Paes is on the verge of making it a grand US Open double having reached the final of the men's doubles as well as the mixed doubles in less than 24 hours at Flushing Meadows in New York yesterday. And going by his words, "it was all simply meant to be."

"We had a great day today and I'm sure tomorrow will be great too given the peculiar date," Paes told MiD DAY from New York after he and Cara Black of Zimbabwe beat Su-Wei Hsieh and Kevin Ullyett 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 to enter the mixed doubles final.

Happy date
"I'm sure it will be a happy 09/09/09," he said before his men's doubles semi-final against top seeds and local favourites Mike and Bob Bryan that was scheduled a few hours later.

It was a tough mountain to climb given the crowd would be behind the American champions, but Paes attributed his positive approach to the numbers on the calendar. "I have always believed in numerology, going by which number 9 is considered to be very auspicious. It is a very strong number and symbolises power.

Today's date has three nines and that makes it a very powerful omen. We will have the strength and power (in the final)," added Paes.

However, Paes warned that the very same number could go against you if not handled with care. "Given the amount of power associated with No 9, it can very easily have a detrimental effect on a person if handled arrogantly. It needs to be handled carefully and with a lot of intelligence to derive maximum benefit," explained India's most capped Davis Cupper.

Spot-on
And just as the five-time Olympian predicted, the Indo-Czech pair exuded sheer strength and stamina balanced with some intelligent play to outwit the Bryan brothers 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) in a closely contested final that lasted nearly two hours.

The match had an eventful climax as Paes and Dlouhy blew as many as five match points in the tie-breaker of the third and final set as the Bryan brothers refused to let go.

However, Paes and Dlouhy held their nerve and it was only fitting that the Indian sealed the tie in the sixth match point with a cheeky backhand volley that bisected and flummoxed the American brothers.

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