Leander Paes

Calcutta: The last iota of doubt was put to rest in Invercargill on Sunday. Not even his fiercest critic would henceforth contest Leander Paes’ status as India’s best Davis Cupper of all time.

Just cold facts go a long way in establishing that theory — he is now level with Ramanathan Krishnan’s record of most wins by an Indian (69), he has the most number of doubles wins (25 against Premjit Lall’s 24), he has won all three matches in a tie an amazing 16 times out of his 34 appearances.

Statistics, though, barely reveal the full story. Time without number, he has carried the Indian team on his shoulders in adverse conditions — like conquering the French on slow red clay in Frejus, overcoming freezing temperatures in Japan and China, playing on Goran Ivanisevic’s mind and wearing him down on a hot Delhi afternoon. But nothing perhaps beats Leander’s three wins this weekend in New Zealand, just months after getting out of a sick bed.

Leander, forced to stay back in New Zealand after the plane he was supposed to fly to Singapore in was hit by lightning, spoke to The Telegraph at length from his Christchurch hotel.

The following are excerpts

Q You’ve been labelled the ‘Superman’ of Indian tennis…

A I am no Superman, just an Indian who always tries to do his best to keep the tricolour flying high. I succeed at times and fail sometimes.

Where would you place this weekend’s performance in the list of achievements?

I think it’s on par with the Olympic medal… I myself wasn’t sure when I could be back on court after having to fight for my life barely five months ago. And now to be coming back like this... To be in a Grand Slam final in my first tournament and then winning it single-handedly for India with three victories in three days… I couldn’t have written the script better. I am really pleased to have proven a point to myself and to those who had said I wouldn’t be able to play tennis ever again.

This must have been extra special, it was your captaincy debut...

Yeah, there is added responsibility now. I have to take some important decisions, I have to call the shots. But even if I wasn’t captain in this tie, I would have given the same effort. It’s great to see all the hard work I put in for nine weeks paying off in the last three.

You have caught up with Ramanathan Krishnan as the most successful Davis Cupper. What’s the next record you’re after?

Sir Ramanathan is the best tennis player India have ever had. It’s an absolute honour to be sharing that position with him. As far as I’m concerned, I have said before I am playing for the history books. I’d like to be credited with all major records before I am through with tennis.

Why did you decide to drop Harsh Mankad and put Vishal Punna in for Sunday’s first reverse singles?

Well, Harsh had an injury in practice on Monday but we thought he’d be okay for Friday’s match against Simon Rea. But the New Zealand debutant played some fine tennis to beat him. Harsh may have aggravated the injury playing on Friday. I spoke to Harsh and the other seniors in the team before deciding on the change.

Playing Vishal nearly paid off. He got an early break and dominated the first seven games. Had he taken the first set, I believe he could have pulled it off.

You didn’t have an easy match in the decider… How tough was it to come back from being a set down?

It wasn’t easy at all. Simon showed over two days that he’s a much better player than we expected him to be. I myself made a slow start while he went swinging at everything. It was more willpower and mental strength that helped me get through the match.

Japan in Japan next. Your thoughts on that tie in April?

Well, it’ll be another tough test on the road. I am hoping Rohan (Bopanna), Prakash (Amritraj) and Harsh (Mankad) get fit by then and I’ll also be in even better shape. I’ll look forward to some solid contribution from the other boys.

Raring to get back on the Tour and resume with (David) Rikl?

As always, a Davis Cup tie has taken a lot out of me. In fact, I seem to have torn a stomach muscle, so I’ll be off tennis for two weeks before coming back on Tour at the Dubai Open where David and I will try to defend our title.