Dlouhy and Paes Win French Open Men’s Doubles Title

Monday, June 8, 2009 -- The team of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy took home the men’s doubles title at the 2009 French Open. They defeated Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Dick Norman of Belgium 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

It was an eventful match for Paes. The Indian tennis player took a hit to the head by a forehand volley from Norman. He then turned his back to the net and dropped to his knees. The hit was automatically credited to Moodie and Norman, giving them an early 3-0 lead over Paes and Dlouhy.

Paes, however, was able to recover quickly though and was able to help his partner win the title.

"It's just one of those things that happens," Paes said later. "At that moment I was in a lot of pain, and I basically sat down. I just had a throbbing headache the whole match. You got to suck it up and go out there and just play hard," he continued. "That's what professional sports are about."

This is the 5th major title in men’s doubles for Paes. This is the first Grand Slam win for 26-year-old Dlouhy. He came in as a runner up three times, once in the French Open and twice in the US Open.

Norman and Moodie were playing their third tournament together. At 38, Norman is the oldest men’s doubles finalist at the French Open.

"They played unbelievable doubles," Norman said of Paes and Dlouhy.