India's doubles ace Mahesh Bhupathi dropped a bombshell when he told the All India Tennis Association that he does not want to partner Leander Paes at the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and instead would prefer teaming up with Rohan Bopanna.
- Paes going for gold at Games
The top Indian tennis duo came together for the Davis Cup tie against Japan last month and helped India qualify for the World Group play-offs. But, it seems, things have fallen through since and Bhupathi is apparently not happy with the lack of communication with his former world No 1 and three Grand Slam-winning partner.
In an e-mail to the AITA, Bhupathi wrote: 'There is absolutely no communication between Leander and myself since the Doha Asian Games and even though I have reached out various times through different avenues there is no movement on any front.
'While people who don't really understand tennis are willing to force us to play together to win a medal, you will agree that we are not magicians and a medal will not happen just because we step on court.
'The field is even stronger than 4 years ago and just going to the Olympics for the sake of it, and not making the most of it by putting all that is required to win does not interest me at this stage of my career.'
Bhupathi is currently ranked No 11 on the doubles charts while Paes has dropped to 24 following a disappointing start to the season in partnership with Paul Hanley of Australia.
As per ITF Olympics Rules, the top-ten doubles players, as on June 9, 2008, directly qualify for the event and have to nominate their partners. Bhupathi, who sent the mail to AITA last week, perhaps did not anticipate that he would fall a place after writing the mail. Partnering Mark Knowles of the Bahamas, he lost in the second round of the Hamburg Masters, and, as per the latest rankings, is now ranked outside the top-10.
Even if he gets back into the top bracket, his choice of partner will have to be supported by the AITA and Indian Olympic Association. Therein lies the catch for the Banglorean.
With Paes-Bhupathi presenting India its biggest hopes for a tennis medal, it is unlikely that the national tennis body or IOA will fiddle around with the combination.
Bhupathi added in the mail: 'It is a true honour for me to represent my country and will do time and time again when needed to.
'Having said that, I would prefer to play with Rohan in Beijing, we do have a good relationship and we are planning to play a couple of events over the next few months. If you choose to send another team to the Olympics, I guess I will have to accept your decision...
'I will enjoy my wins and retire without a medal if I have to but being forced into doing this without any reciprocation is something I am not willing to go through.'
Paes won the singles bronze medal at the Atlanta Games in 1996. He and Bhupathi narrowly lost the bronze medal play-off match at the Athens Olympics to Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic.
Bopanna is currently ranked a career-high 50 in doubles.
Even if the AITA contemplates sending two teams in doubles, the question is: who will partner Paes, since the fourth-best doubles player, Mustafa Ghouse, is ranked way down at 230.
Though Bhupathi and Paes said, nay, even insisted, during the recent Davis Cup tie that they would put aside their differences and unite under the tricolour, and that their entry has already gone, it seems nothing they say can be taken at face value.
For now, it's deuce for Indian tennis.