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A dream comes true for the Indian duo

Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes became the first Indians to win a senior Wimbledon title today when they won the men's doubles final.

The top seeds, who won the French Open doubles title last month, beat Dutchman Paul Haarhuis and Jared Palmer of the United States 6-7 (10-12), 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) on Court 1.

"We put more work into this tournament than the French," said Bhupathi later.

"We never thought we could win at Wimbledon, because we had never done well on grass before. I nearly booked my plane tickets home for the middle of the first week.

"But our last three matches were amazing. We came back from a set down in each and built up a great momentum.

"Winning the title was our best performance yet. When the moment came, there were tears in my eyes, and I think Leander was about to cry as well.

"It was a dream, and one we never thought would come true."

Haarhuis won the title last year with compatriot Jacco Eltingh.

Bhupathi, ranked number two in the world in the doubles, said he had been trying to call his mother at home in Bangalore, India, but had not managed to get through.

"She must be talking to everyone else first," he said. "I think our achievements have captured the attention of people back home, although we're lucky in that we are not expected to win.

"There is great pressure on our cricketers, but if we do well, people just appreciate it.

"The support, from Indians in this country, and from back home, has been great. When we have got into a crunch situation, we have used that support to help us come through.

"Hopefully, what we have done at the French and now at Wimbledon will do a hell of a lot for tennis in India. Television has been showing our matches, and perhaps that will have got some young people interested in the game."

This year has been an overwhelming success for the pair.

They also reached the doubles final at the Australian Open, while Paes -- who won the junior singles title at Wimbledon nine years ago -- rose to become the best doubles player in the world, taking Bhupathi's ranking from him.

The pair battled through five-set matches in the quarter- and semi-finals. Bhupathi will now take a break from their hectic schedule.

"I have torn some fibres in the lower abdomen on my left side, and I've been playing with the injury for the last three days. I'm going home for a rest."

They will team up again to prepare for the US Open in August. "We complement each other really well," said Bhupathi.

"Our confidence is so high at the moment. We have broken the barrier of winning our first Grand Slam, and we can do much more together from here."

Reuters