Mumbai: After winning the US Open men’s doubles title this year, Indian tennis veteran Leander Paes said on Sunday that he is trying to remain injury-free and working on his serve for the next season.
“I have been working really hard on my rotator cuff. In 2014, I want my serve to get a little better. To get my serve a little better would mean that I need to get a little more range of movement on my backward motion,” Paes told reporters here.
“Hence, the flexibility has to be better, which gives me not only power but more variables, more range of direction. That is what I am working on this year,” he said.
The 40-year-old said he is focusing on his fitness and trying to take it to the next level.
“For me, Rio 2016 is definitely a very real target. In the new year, I am mostly focusing on trying to stay injury free. Take my fitness levels to another height. I feel at 40 to keep pushing the bar, to keep trying to get better and to continue being a student of my profession motivates me a lot,” he said.
“Watching Andy Murray train off the court, what he does for fitness. How Ivan Lendl and how his fitness team has worked to get Murray to get so much stronger, that is something I try and learn from. (PTI)