Paes for Jaipur with titles in kitty

It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Indian Davis Cup captain Leander Paes. With India scheduled to take on Uzbekistan in the...

It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Indian Davis Cup captain Leander Paes. With India scheduled to take on Uzbekistan in their Asia-Ocenia semifinals later this week at Jaipur, Paes added one more title win — another first — in the company of Nenad Zimonjic.

Continuing his winning run from the ATP Masters Series event at Monte Carlo, Paes and Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia and Montenegro), seeded No 2 at Barcelona, annexed the Open SEAT Godo 2005 doubles crown.

The 6-3, 6-3 win came over home favourites Rafael Nadal — who was seeking a double after winning the singles crown — and Feliciano Lopez. The straight set win thus gave the pair a W/L record of 14-5 in 2005.

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Likewise, a peek at Paes’ record for the year shows that the Indian’s eight-match unbeaten streak has come on on clay. Two wins on the trot was something Paes had achieved in two years ago when he lifted the Delray Beach event (with Zimonjic) and the doubles success at Dubai with David Rikle.

Paes and Zimonjic thus joined a select band of pairs that include Mark Knowles (Bahamas)/ Daniel Nestor (Canada), Frantisek Cermak/Leos Friedl (Czech Republic), Martin Damm (USA)/Radek Stepanek (Romania) — all of whom have won two titles each this season. The only pair to have won three titles is Simon Asperlin (Sweden)/Todd Perry (Australia).

Paes, who was said to be in transit, is expected to join the Indian team at Jaipur either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Coach Nandan Bal said, ‘‘The team was preparing well and with Paes joining the squad, it would boost their confidence.’’