Leander Paes: The Indian tennis star!

Leander Paes is one of India's greatest sportsmen and most incredible athletes. He has begun 2012 on an incredible high. His doubles victory at the Australian Open Tennis Tournament has meant that he now has won every single Grand slam Championship there is to win and has a total of 13 in his bag. At 39, at this point of time, he seems set to go on and on and on!

CNBC-TV18's Anuradha Sengupta caught with the tennis player to talk to him about the game and more.

Below is the edited transcript of his interview. Also watch the accompanying videos.

Q: When you began the year, did you think that you would have a straight sets victory over the Bryan Brothers in the Australian Open - the first Grand slam Tournament of the year?

A: Not at all. I had a feeling that I would play them in the finals. But to really predict that you are going to win the Australian Open and that too win it by beating the number one, two and three seeds along the way and only losing a set along the way, I couldn't have predicted that.

I have got to say that I have tremendous respect for the work ethics that Radek Stepanek, my doubles partner, has and the way he has grasped doubles skills so fast. Two weeks before the event, he was ranked at 112 in the world. Today, he sits at 23 in the world as an individual ranking and we sit at number one in the world in our team rankings. So, he is a fantastic tennis player, great talent, a brilliant athlete, younger legs, fresh legs.

Q: So, you are giving the credit to him, is it?

A: I am giving a lot of the credit to him. When you look at doubles skills, I have been doing it for a long time. For me, I have won with so many different partners and I have learned so much from different partners. It's my bread and butter playing doubles at the moment. But, for Radek, it was a switch from singles coming in to doubles. We share that amazing camaraderie, we have that magic in that X factor that people talk about where we both find ways to solve obstacles or we find solutions to any adversity. But to learn the skills of doubles in 21 days takes some doing.

Q: I think you played one tournament with him, once in 2004.

A: Yes, six years ago.

Q: You have explained to me that it takes seven-eight months to really jell with the doubles partner because you are sometimes playing guys who have played for 10-12 years and longer together. So, how did you jell with so many different people who you have played with over the past several years?

A: Chemistry. I think the most important think about any project is that the people, who are involved in that project, their chemistry is amazing. The fact that we have different strengths, different weaknesses, the fact that we come from different thought processes is al great. But the communication between that, the chemistry that you have the mutual respect for each other, hear each other out - even if you differ an opinion you share ideas as much as it takes anywhere between three-seven months to build a world championship wining team. That's where I am so amazed with how quick Radeks picked it up, in 21 days.

For complete interview, watch the videos.