Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy after their win at Flushing Meadows on Sunday

Calcutta/New York: Ten is a good number. Even though he stressed it was “just a number,” Leander Paes knows how hard he had to fight for his 10th Grand Slam title.

On a very busy day after, the Calcutta boy shared his thoughts on Sunday’s win in a text message to The Telegraph — sent well after midnight in New York — and revealed how easily the story could have been different. Paes had a sore arm for the final, something that could have derailed his bid for the title, but fighting alongside him was Lukas Dlouhy and the Czech made sure their team had the title.

“My arm was hurting… So, it was left to my partner to help us pull through,” Paes said. “I am happy he stepped up so well.”

The going had been tough in the first set, but the fight back Paes and Dlouhy launched in the second carried them through.

“Usually when I and Mahesh face off it’s a tough match. This final was no different. It’s just that when it goes down to the wire what matters is the ability to raise one’s game and put the other team under pressure. I am glad we managed to do that in the middle of the second set.”

So, 10 means satisfaction. But for Leander the joy is not so much numerical: “I know this is No.10, but that is just a number, the joy of competing and prevailing against odds is what keeps spurring me on and not the desire to further fill up my trophy cabinet.”

In playing with a hurting arm and winning, Paes illustrated what he exactly meant by “prevailing against odds.”

Paes had injured his elbow ten days back while playing mixed doubles, the event in which he and Cara Black conceded their title to Travis Parrott and Carly Gullickson in the final.

“I’m a little numb at the moment, because it’s just been a mammoth effort over the past two weeks,” Paes said.

But it has its rewards.

With this year’s French Open doubles crown, partnering with Dlouhy, already in his pocket, Paes felt the current season is the best in his 18 year career.

“This is possibly the best year I’ve ever had on the tour,” Paes said after the match. “Today’s match was of real high quality. Well done.”

Paes had also heaped praises on Dlouhy.

“I just have to say I’m blessed with a great partner in Lukas. He seems to play on the big moments, you know. That’s the important part… when you have a partner that recognises that I was injured and was hurting… he just stepped up to the plate and just said, ‘I’m going to do it,’” he said.

“‘You just be solid with me today, and I’m just going to take over and do it for you.’ And he did. That’s the beauty about doubles, is that you have another brother there to rely on. Today this Grand Slam, I think especially today, was just Lukas’s match. He played MVP for sure. I think that’s the beauty of the best doubles teams in the world. One player leads sometime.

“And like today, Lukas led and I followed. I think the key is in our understanding, it doesn’t matter who leads or who follows. We both kind of are together. That’s why we won today, really,” Paes said.

Dlouhy, for his part, said his on-court understanding with Paes was crucial.

“It’s a great feeling to win it and to play with him on the same side. It’s really amazing to play with him in such a big tournament, finals. I have been in two finals already here before, and today was a special match.

“We were like fired up and we were playing well and like a team. Doesn’t matter if I play good or he’s playing good, we are like team, and we won it like team. That’s it. It’s amazing feeling for me to win second Grand Slam in the year. What can I say? It’s perfect,” said Dlouhy.

Paes bettered his score against his estranged friend and former partner Bhupathi by improving 10-9 on head to head.