The Hindu : Sport : ‘Bhupathi-Paes pair best bet for Olympics’

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Thursday, Apr 03, 2008
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‘Bhupathi-Paes pair best bet for Olympics’

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: Mahesh Bhupathi is all for playing the Olympics with his estranged partner, Leander Paes. Bhupathi believes that the pair would be the best medal winning chance for the India.

In an e-mail interview with The Hindu Bhupathi said, “The best chance of a medal for India at the Olympics is Bhupathi and Paes.”

Bhupathi also chose to down play the Davis Cup issue, where he along with Prakash Amritraj and Rohan Bopanna, had objected to Paes’s captaincy in the wake of skirmishes during the Uzbekistan match.

The trio, had later relented to play the Davis Cup tie against Japan this month, after Vijay Amritraj brokered a truce, convincing them to play the tie.

No problem

Stating that he had no problem in going ahead with the Japan tie, Bhupathi said, “I am looking forward to the match against Japan, no doubt about it.” Bhupathi was pleased with the way the season was going for him and his new partner Mark Knowles of Bahamas.

Great tennis

The pair has been playing some great tennis and Knowles is currently ranked No. 4 in the ATP ranking while Bhupathi is on 13.

With two recent big wins on the ATP Tour at Memphis and Dubai, the duo is looking forward to a great season.

“I have played with some great players like Max Mirnyi and Todd Woodbridge, but the on-court chemistry with Knowles has been fantastic and we are playing well and we feel we are in contention to win any tournament we play,” said Bhupathi.

Asked whether that includes Grand Slams as well, Mahesh said, “yes, we have as good a chance as any other pair.”

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