Navratilova inspired triumph, says Leander

PARIS: India's Leander Paes celebrated a ninth Grand Slam doubles title on Saturday before thanking former playing partner and 20-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova for boosting his career.

Paes teamed with Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic to capture the French Open title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Belgium's Dick Norman.

It was 35-year-old Paes's fifth men's Grand Slam men's doubles title having won twice here in 1999 and 2001 with compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi, 1999 Wimbledon with Bhupathi and the 2006 US Open with Martin Damm.