Age is just a number for Leander Paes, who, at 42, plays like a teenager with high enthusiasm alongside his 34-year-old Swiss partner Martina Hingis. The pair is set for a showdown against USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey in the mixed doubles title decider at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Friday.
The Indo-Swiss pair has been a huge force in the mixed doubles circuit, having won two out of the three grand slams and on course for a hat-trick of titles this season. Paes and Hingis have been in impeccable form during the season and are strong favourites to win the US Open.
Paes and Hingis might have not played much in the US Open as they have walked in to the finals with two walkovers and two wins. But whatever little we have seen of the fourth seed in the US Open, they seem to love their time in the middle with smiles on their faces throughout the match and winning matches with relative ease.
The Indo-Swiss pair was not perturbed when it was challenged by the Indo-Chinese Taipei pair of Rohan Bopanna and Yung-Jan Chan in the semi-finals of the competition, as Leander Paes won a close second set to clinch a berth in the finals.
However, Paes and Hingis cannot afford to take it easy against their opponents, Mattek-Sands and Querrey, who have been impressive in the tournament right from the start, ousting third seed Lucie Hradecka and Marcin Matkowski in the first round of the competition in a pulsating match, which required a super tie-breaker.
The unseeded American pair seem to have gained in confidence as it has shown some great form to defeat the sixth seed Yaroslava Shvedova and Juan Sebastian Cabal in the quarter-finals with another super tie-breaker.
So the American pair is going to be confident ahead of their mixed doubles final clash against Paes and Hingis, who enjoy a special chemistry on the court. With Hingis playing most of her shots from the baseline, it is Paes' reflexes at the net which has helped the Indo-Swiss pair win a number of matches.
They dominate other pairs at the net with utmost ease as was witnessed in the finals of the 2015 Wimbledon where Paes and Hingis put up a stupendous performance to defeat Alexander Peya and Timea Babos to win their second grand slam.
If the Indo-Swiss pair comes up with a similar performance, the US pair of Mattek-Sands and Querrey is likely to be rendered mere spectators in the finals.
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Leander Paes/Martina Hingis vs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey mixed doubles final is scheduled for 2pm local time (11:30pm IST, 7pm BST, 4am AEST).
Indian viewers can catch Leander Paes/Martina Hingis vs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey mixed doubles final on Ten Action with live streaming option on tensports.com.
UK viewers can watch the US Open mixed doubles final on Sky Sports 1/HD with live streaming on Sky Go.
Viewers in the US can enjoy US Open mixed doubles finalon ESPN and online on Watch ESPN.
Fox Sports 4 will offer Leander Paes/Martina Hingis vs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey mixed doubles final in Australia with an online option on Foxtel.
