India, Nov. 1 -- Two Indian greats, two different legacies. Leander Paes built India's tennis mountain with Olympic medals, Davis Cup dominance, and a haul of Slams that spanned two decades. Rohan Bopanna climbed that mountain again in his forties, rewrote age records, and brought a men's doubles Slam back to India in 2024. This is the fair way to weigh them.

Paes is, by volume and variety, India's most decorated tennis player. He won 18 Grand Slam titles and completed the career Slam in both men's doubles and mixed, an elite and rare double.

The singular national-pride moment: 1996 Atlanta Olympic bronze in singles, India's first tennis medal, and the country's first individual Olympic medal since 1952. That result mainstreamed Indian ...