Leander wants to finish on a high: Father

“The Davis Cup is in March. Then there is the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He wants to represent the country in those two events and give his all. He can then call it a day,” said Vece Paes. Leander, 46, announced on Wednesday that he would look to play a “few select tournaments” next year and travel with his team as he calls curtains on a career that started in 1991.

Leander has won 18 Grand Slam (men’s doubles and mixed doubles) titles and a bronze medal in the singles competition at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. He also competed in consecutive Olympics from 1992 to 2016, becoming the first Indian and only tennis player to compete at seven Games.

“He has been thinking about it for four-five months. He is 46 now. Age is catching up,” said Olympian Vece. “He wants to spend more time with his daughter (Aiyana). So he announced that 2020 will be his last year,” he added. Leander has won a total of 54 doubles titles in a career spanning three decades. He is also the most successful doubles player in the history of the Davis Cup with 44 victories.

Last month, he bettered his own Davis Cup record by winning his 44th doubles match along with debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan as India thrashed Pakistan in Nur-Sultan and booked a spot in next year’s World Group Qualifiers. India will take on World No.2 Croatia in the Qualifiers in an away tie, to be held onMarch 6 and 7.

“I feel happy for him, sometimes you don’t have words. He has been a champion all along and has achieved everything,” said Vece, a former India hockey player, who represented the nation at the 1972 Munich Olympics.