An almost perfect build up to the Australian Open was enjoyed by King William’s Town-born South African Davis Cup stalwart Raven Klaasen, as he claimed his first title of the year at the Heineken Open in New Zealand.
“It’s been good getting 2015 off to a good start,” claimed Klaasen.
“Playing with Leander is loads of fun and we combine really well.
“The first two events have been great and it has been a perfect start for our team.”
Klaasen will now be making a bid for his maiden Grand Slam title when he and Paes begin their assault on the Australian Open this week.
On Saturday, Klaasen and new playing partner Paes, of India, dispatched challengers Dominic Inglot and Florin Mergea in straight sets, 7-6 6-4 to take the title.
It was a great response from the duo, who were seeded fourth for the tournament, after they lost the Chennai Open final a week previously as top seeds.
This will only be the third tournament that they have played together, yet the two look to have gelled perfectly from the get go. They enter the event as the number 10 seeds and they face unseeded Americans Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram with doubles play set to get underway from early tomorrow.
The programme for the doubles will only be released late today.
“I’m excited to get back to Australia and feel very prepared,” said Klaasen.
“My team back home have really done a great job in getting me prepared for 2015.
“I really looked to cover all areas, Stephan De Kock, trainer Fayaadh Dhansay and mental coach Gielie Hoffman. These guys put lots of time in to make sure that I’m in the best shape to compete,” admitted Klaasen. In their first tournament together in the Chennai Open, the duo, ranked as top seeds for the event, confidently made their way to the final, however they were not good enough on the day as they fell to a 3-6 6-7(4) loss to Yen Hsun Lu and Jonathan Murray.
Despite the loss, Klaasen and Paes bounced back in style at the Heineken Open and will be happy to have got their fledgling partnership off to a great start.
Klaasen enjoyed a breakout year in 2014 when he and Eric Butorac finished runners up at the Australian Open, won two tournaments and beat arguably the best doubles team of all time, twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, twice.
Klaasen was then approached by Paes’s representatives near the end of last year, who indicated that he was interested in partnering with him for the new season.
With the star player’s wealth of experience, Klaasen could not resist the offer and thus became Paes’s 99th doubles partner.
Paes has racked up an impressive 54 doubles titles over his illustrious career including eight Grand Slams, and his experience in the big games could help Klaasen reach his goal of winning a maiden Grand Slam.
Klaasen, new Indian partner turn attention to Aussie doubles
“It’s been good getting 2015 off to a good start,” claimed Klaasen.
“Playing with Leander is loads of fun and we combine really well.
“The first two events have been great and it has been a perfect start for our team.”
Klaasen will now be making a bid for his maiden Grand Slam title when he and Paes begin their assault on the Australian Open this week.
On Saturday, Klaasen and new playing partner Paes, of India, dispatched challengers Dominic Inglot and Florin Mergea in straight sets, 7-6 6-4 to take the title.
It was a great response from the duo, who were seeded fourth for the tournament, after they lost the Chennai Open final a week previously as top seeds.
This will only be the third tournament that they have played together, yet the two look to have gelled perfectly from the get go. They enter the event as the number 10 seeds and they face unseeded Americans Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram with doubles play set to get underway from early tomorrow.
The programme for the doubles will only be released late today.
“I’m excited to get back to Australia and feel very prepared,” said Klaasen.
“My team back home have really done a great job in getting me prepared for 2015.
“I really looked to cover all areas, Stephan De Kock, trainer Fayaadh Dhansay and mental coach Gielie Hoffman. These guys put lots of time in to make sure that I’m in the best shape to compete,” admitted Klaasen. In their first tournament together in the Chennai Open, the duo, ranked as top seeds for the event, confidently made their way to the final, however they were not good enough on the day as they fell to a 3-6 6-7(4) loss to Yen Hsun Lu and Jonathan Murray.
Despite the loss, Klaasen and Paes bounced back in style at the Heineken Open and will be happy to have got their fledgling partnership off to a great start.
Klaasen enjoyed a breakout year in 2014 when he and Eric Butorac finished runners up at the Australian Open, won two tournaments and beat arguably the best doubles team of all time, twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, twice.
Klaasen was then approached by Paes’s representatives near the end of last year, who indicated that he was interested in partnering with him for the new season.
With the star player’s wealth of experience, Klaasen could not resist the offer and thus became Paes’s 99th doubles partner.
Paes has racked up an impressive 54 doubles titles over his illustrious career including eight Grand Slams, and his experience in the big games could help Klaasen reach his goal of winning a maiden Grand Slam.
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