Miami: Indian tennis veteran Leander Paes became only the 24th player in the ATP World Tour history to win 50 doubles titles after he and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek clinched the Sony Ericsson Open, their second team trophy of the season, here.
The 38-year-old also Paes and Stepanek, who were seeded seventh, rallied to upstage second seeds Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor 3-6 6-1 10-8 yesterday.
After dropping the first set, the Australian Open champions broke Mirnyi and Nestor twice in the second set to force a match tie-break.
The Indo-Czech combination trailed 1-4 before winning six straight points to surge ahead. Stepanek closed out the victory with an unreturnable volley to clinch the win in 82 minutes.
“Well actually Radek came to me and said something simple on my service return (in the second set) and that changed the whole momentum of the match. I have got to give full credit to Daniel and Max, they started out amazingly, they were all over us in the first set,” a jubilant Paes said after the triumph.
“Over all these years of playing, I have got to thank many partners, I have got to thank many coaches… I have to thank my father but most importantly my wonderful partner right now, Radek Stepanek,” he added.
Paes, who did little celebratory jig with Stepanek after the match, collected his third straight crown at Crandon Park, having triumphed with Lukas Dlouhy in 2010 and Mahesh Bhupathi in 2011.
“(It’s) really, really special. 50 tournaments takes a little doing. 600 matches takes a little bit of doing,” said Paes.
“Having done a three peat here in Miami is awesome. Next year, I hope to start another one.”
An equally elated Stepanek said he felt honoured to team up with Paes.
“We fought through it, and we got on top of them in the second set all the way,” said Stepanek.
Maria Sharapova lost her serve in the last game of each set and again fell short in a bid for her first Sony Ericsson Open title, losing the final to Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday
Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam champion, fell to 0-4 in Key Biscayne finals. She was also the runner-up in 2005, 2006 and last year.
Radwanska, ranked a career-best No. 4, earned her ninth career title and fourth since last summer. She’s 0-4 in 2012 against top-ranked Victoria Azarenka and 26-0 against everyone else.
The match was 72 minutes old before Radwanska hit her first baseline winner. She was content to play steadily and extend rallies until the more aggressive Sharapova would make a mistake.
Sharapova finished with 45 unforced errors, many from the backhand side. Radwanska committed only 10 unforced errors and erased all three break points she faced.
On a sunny, 85-degree (30 C) afternoon, the South Florida crowd was divided in its support.
“Vamos Maria!” one spectator hollered for the Russian.
“Vamos Agnes!” another shouted for the Pole.
Sharapova draped a rolled-up cold towel around her neck during changeovers, but the heat didn’t seem to faze either player. But the pressure to hold serve made Sharapova wobble twice.
Serving at 5-6 in the first set, she committed four unforced errors – including a blown overhead – to lose the set.
The pattern was similar in the second set, when Radwanska had only one break point – the last point of the match. Sharapova sailed a forehand long, and Radwanska lifted her arms in triumph.
Radwanska beat Venus Williams en route to the final. (Agencies)