The Daily Forehand Talks to Leander Paes, Mixed Doubles Specialist

Mixed doubles action gets underway today on Day 3 of the 2010 US Open.  The unique discipline is only present nowadays at the grand slams (and will be at the 2012 Olympics), but is incredibly popular among fans and always draws good crowds.

One of the most accomplished players in this format in recent years is India's Leander Paes.  Paes, with partner Cara Black, has won three of the last seven slam mixed doubles titles, giving him a career total of five mixed doubles titles at grand slams.  The pair made the finals of the US Open last year, and are entered into this year's draw as the second-seeded team.

This summer, during his season with World Team Tennis' Washington Kastles, I talked with Leander about his success in mixed doubles, and what makes for success in one of the only co-ed competitions in professional sports.

TDF: You have had a lot of success in your career in mixed doubles.  What do you think makes a good mixed doubles player as a man?

Leander Paes: Communication.  Communication, in any team effort, I think is very important.  More than giving out orders, it's almost reading between the lines as to what the other person is saying.  I think that's important.  Because, don't forget, you're on a pressure situation on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, or on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with another human being who's trying their best.  To handle winning, to handle a loss, to handle serving 4-5 down on Centre Court at Wimbledon in the third set of the finals, those are pressure situations! So you need a lot of understanding, and you've got to read between the lines of what someone is saying, and then come together as a team.  So to me, I think communication and understanding are the most important things in a team effort.

TDF: You've played mixed doubles for a long time with Cara Black.  You two have stayed together for a long time, whereas a lot of mixed doubles partners change every slam.  What has made you two stay together for so long?

Leander Paes: Friendship.  Cara's two elder brothers and myself grew up together.  Byron [Black] , the eldest brother, is a year or two older than me, and we grew up playing the juniors together, traveling on the International Tennis Federation team together.  Byron retired, and then [his younger brother] Wayne came up, and Wayne and myself played doubles together, too.  Wayne was playing mixed doubles with Cara, and he was like "man, I'm gonna retire, you'd better look after my sister." (laughs).  So we ended up playing, and we've had a phenomenal record.  We've played seven tournaments together, and won three of them, if I'm not mistaken.

TDF: There seem to be unwritten rules of etiquette for mixed doubles, about not targeting the woman on the other side of the net too directly.  I've seen players booed for spiking it at the woman.  How do you juggle that, and do you think about that when you're playing mixed?

Leander Paes: You know, there's a really fine line there.  I don't think you should ever try to spike a ball at a woman, I would never ever do that.  But there's a fine line between hitting the ball with spin--a lot of women, the harder you hit it directly at them, they'll be able to hit it back just as hard.  But if you hit it with spin, or slice, or curve, or a kick serve up above their backhand, then high so they don't have much reach there, especially with the two-handed backhands, those are the things you look out for. I think each player has her own strengths and weaknesses.  But you try to look out for a high backhand, generally, for a woman, is a tough shot to return, so you try to get it up there every now and then.  Giving away all my secrets, now, man! (laughs)