Planet Sport

Mobile ESPN's Bhagya Ayyavoo goes on a day out with the iconic Leander Paes and his doubles partner in Chennai.

Meet the most colourful duo of the Chennai Open 2009. He's from Czech Republic who eagerly jumped on the invite extended by his doubles partner and India's tennis hero Leander Paes to visit India as well as kick-start a new season at the Chennai Open.

And together, the world No.8 duo decided to beat Chennai's December heat with a stroll around one of the city's landmark destinations - Valluvar Kottam, only a few kilometers away from the SDAT Tennis Stadium - the Chennai Open venue.

We have seen them in the past wear contrasting attires in the ATP tour events. But, nothing to beat their choice of clothes this time around. Lee sported a bright blue and black kurta-pajama while Lucas settled for a contrasting orange traditional suit for a sunny Sunday afternoon stroll.

The lucky spot was one of the landmarks in Chennai - Valluvar Kottam. After posing for photographs, and exchanging few fun short-volleys, the 25-year-old expressed his desire to his elder partner. "Can we get on top of the baby elephant?, Lucas inquired.

And as his smiling partner readily agreed, with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old the Czech mate climbed up first, followed by Paes. The show finally came to an end after a flurry of clicks.

A smiling Leander said, "the two elephants were cute, they were little fellows. Elephant stands for what India stands for. But, it was hard to miss the gleam in Paes' eyes as he appreciated Dlouhy's Indian looks, "looks pretty good isn't he?". The Czech mate, blushing red said, "I've never wear this Indian outfit, this is a great experience to be here and obviously from my partner from India, it was great!" The chemistry seems to be working wonders, especially for Dlouhy after he made three Grand Slam finals last year partnering Leander, "We are really good friends, it works on court as well. We keep going, doing the same things ...for sure, because Leander is one of the greatest players and I really like and enjoy playing with him. I hope he can teach me more..."

For the time being, the Czech Republic native is settling down quite comfortably and is happy about the security arrangements in Chennai, "Security...it's perfect...everything is fine and I feel safe, everything is perfect".