Paes breaks into list of big-money earners
Thus far, Leander Paes has been known more for his giant-killing exploits on the Davis Cup circuit than for his exploits on the ATP Tour.
And what this in turn meant was that he gained more fame than money.
This year, Paes has managed to redress the lack -- and has made not only his fans, but also his bank manager, smile.
As per the latest ATP tour money earners' list, Paes finds himself inside the top fifty. In fact, his earnings this year of $402,483 dollars puts him in the 43rd spot for the season.
Top of the list for men is Pete Sampras with $3,905,078. And interestingly, number two for the year is Martina Hingis, whose $3,256,286 puts her at the head of the women's list and second overall only to Sampras. She is in fact way ahead of the next best Patrick Rafter, the second highest earner among men with $2,448,874.
Paes has had a decent run in singles, but it is his doubles team-up with Mahesh Bhupati that has helped him rake in the money. Currently, they are ranked number four in the world.
The duo have in the period April-October pulled off six major titles, as listed below:
April 13: Gold Flake Open in Madras, where they beat Eyal Ran of Israel and Oleg Ogorodov of Uzbekistan 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.
May 4: Paegas Czech Open in Prague, where they defeated Petz Luxa and David Skoch of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-1.
August 3: Du Maurier Canadian Open in Montreal, beating Sebastian Lareau and Alex O'Brien of the US 7-6 )7-5), 6-3.
August 17: Pilot Pen International in New Haven, USA, where they again defeated the Lareau-O'Brien combo 6-4, 6-7, 6-2.
October 4: China Open at Beijing, beating Jim Courier and Alex O'Brien of the US 7-5, 7-6 (9-7).
October 12: Heineken Open in Singapore, beating Rick Lean and Jonathan Stark of the US 6-4, 6-4.
Thanks to this run, the two now find themselves in the prestigious Phoenix/ATP World Doubles Championships, scheduled for mid-November.
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