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Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova shared a long and successful on-court partnership, reaching as many as four Grand Slam mixed doubles finals and triumphing in two.
However, if Leander Paes' words are anything to go by, the beginning of their association was hardly a thought-out strategic decision.
The Indian doubles legend recalled the first instance of Navratilova approaching him to play mixed doubles with her in a recent interview with The Week. Describing the Czech player as a "born leader," Paes revealed that Navratilova once just walked into the men's locker room and casually told him that he'll be her doubles partner.
"I would always give the factual feeling that when you play with Martina Navratilova, she is a born leader," Leander Paes said. "Navratilova walked into the men’s locker room at the US Open two minutes before the sign in, tapped me on my shoulder and said, 'You are playing with me'. The rest is history."
Responding to Navratilova having called him the "greatest partner," Paes said he would like to put an exclamation mark on the statement. He said that would mean the world to a young boy from Calcutta.
"You just said Martina Navratilova said that I was her greatest partner," the Indian legend said. "We are going to take the full stop out of that. I’m going to put an exclamation mark on it and stop right there. For a young boy from Calcutta, that’s a big statement."
Why Martina Navratilova? - Leander Paes weighs in on the GOAT debate
Leander Paes also weighed in on the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) debate, saying the title, according to him, was best suited to Martina Navratilova.
Saying that the Czech legend was his "9 pm call," the former Olympic medalist stated that there were certain values that made her a champion and stand out.
Paes went on to add that winning matches does not always provide the right motivation for players, especially during the early years. He said that it was equally important to have a value system and live by it.
"Why is Martina Navratilova the GOAT for me? Because she was my 9 pm phone call when I was at the MD Anderson Cancer Research Centre (Texas)," Leander Paes said. "Every single day. And when she went through cancer, I was her 9 pm phone call every day.
"And I think that’s what champions are made of," he continued. "We’re not champions because we win. We win because we have certain value systems and certain ways of looking at life. And the way we live our lives."
