Hyderabad: The final Grand Slam event of the year is around the corner, and the 'Big Apple' eagerly awaits its favourite tennis players to grace the majestic courts and deliver an end-to-end tennis extravaganza that will keep fans on the edge of their seats. Over the years, the US Open has seen many tennis stars lift the coveted title and make a name for themselves. Indian tennis legends Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, and Mahesh Bhupathi have collectively won the trophy 10 times. Let’s look at some of the most historic triumphs by Indians at the US Open.
Leander Paes:
One of the tennis greats Leander Paes has tasted success at the Arthur Ashe stadium on five different occasions. Leander Paes, a eighteen-time Grand Slam champion, won his first US Open men’s doubles title in 2006 with Czech Martin Damm, defeating Bjorkman and Mirnyi 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. Later, he clinched the mixed doubles title in 2008 with Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, overcoming Huber and Murray 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Paes and partner Lukas Dlouhy won the men’s doubles the next year, beating fellow Indian and former partner Bhupathi and Knowles 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Sania Mirza:
The woman who inspired millions of Indians to take up tennis won her first US Open title in 2014 mixed doubles category overcoming Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 2-6, (11-9) in exactly one hour. This was the third grand slam of her illustrious career. Sania did not stop there, she won the US open again in 2015 in the women’s double category defeating Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-3.
Mahesh Bhupathi:
Bhupathi became India’s first US Open winner in 1999, paving the way for fellow Indians to follow suit and etch India’s name in the history of the game. Pairing up with Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, the duo won 6-4, 6-4 in the final against the American duo of Kimberly Po and Donald Johnson. Bhupathi’s triumph at the US Open did not stop there. Defying the odds, he went on to defeat some of the biggest names in men’s doubles history, alongside his Belarusian partner Max Mirnyi, and lifted the trophy once again in 2002. In 2005, he paired up with Slovak star Daniela Hantuchova in the mixed double category and won his second mix double title at the US Open.
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