PAES WINS AUSTRALIAN OPEN MIXED TITLE WITH CARA BLACK

Indian doubles legend Leander Paes lived up to his No. 1 seeding in the Australian Open mixed doubles event alongside Zimbabwe's Cara Black, taking the title in Melbourne for the second time on Sunday.

Paes, who won the 2003 mixed title with Martina Navratilova, collected his fifth Grand Slam mixed championship and second with Black following a 7-5, 6-3 win over Czech Jaroslav Levinsky and Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

It was 36-year-old Paes's 11th major title overall - adding to his six men's doubles Slams - tying him with former doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi for the most majors won by an Indian player. Bhupathi won his 11th Grand Slam title by taking the 2009 Australian Open mixed crown with compatriot Sania Mirza.

When asked about what makes him and Black a great mixed doubles combination, Paes replied: "I think that just our expertise and the way we play doubles, the way we cover the right shots at the right time, and the fact we keep bringing it to our opponents."