Martina Navratilova says Leander Paes is the guy whom she enjoyed playing the mixed doubles with the most.
Navratilova had partnered Paes in the first half of the last decade and the duo proved to be fairly successful playing together, achieving glory at the Melbourne Park as well as the All England Club in the 2003 Season.
Apart from that, they also reached the finals of a few events. Their on-court chemistry was pretty sound.
Navratilova, who is almost touching her 60 now, again had the opportunity to play alongside Paes in an exhibition game yesterday that took place in Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal.
On the other side of the court was another Indian legend Mahesh Bhupati pairing with Sania Mirza.
It turned out to be a great occasion with a lot of fans turning up at the venue making the atmosphere electrifying.
The game finished as a draw. Both the pairs won a set each after which it was decided there would be no third set as it would be fitting to have no winner of the contest.
Navratilova herself made that announcement after the second set amidst loud cheers.
Addressing the crowd, Navratilova said, “We have come to the conclusion not to play a decider and thus, to end the contest without having a winner. It was so nice of all of you to gather in such big numbers. I heartily appreciate that and would like to thank you.”
Later Navratilova talked to the reporters about India and the passion of the people there regarding their sports.
In the words of the Czech veteran, “I have come to this country in the past as well and have always loved coming here. The people are fantastic, extremely passionate about the game. Even today, it was so nice to have so many of them around cheering. It was fun being back on the court again, partnering Paes after such a long time. He was my favourite.”