Mahesh Bhupathi

Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi US Open 2009-2010-01-02.jpg
Bhupathi at the 2009 US open
Country  India
Residence Bangalore, India
Date of birth June 7, 1974 (1974-06-07) (age 36)
Place of birth Chennai, India
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 89 kg (200 lb; 14.0 st)
Turned pro 1995
Plays Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Career prize money $4,895,318
Singles
Career record 10–28
Career titles 0
Highest ranking 217 (February 2, 1998)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open -
French Open -
Wimbledon 1RD (1997, 1998, 2000)
Doubles
Career record 557–271
Career titles 45
Highest ranking 1 (April 26, 1999)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open F (1999, 2009)
French Open W (1999, 2001)
Wimbledon W (1999)
US Open W (2002)
Mixed Doubles
Career titles 7
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open W (2006, 2009)
French Open W (1997)
Wimbledon W (2002, 2005)
US Open W (1999, 2005)
Last updated on: September 14, 2009.

Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi born (June 7, 1974) in Chennai, is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament (with Rika Hiraki).[1]. With his win of the Australian Open Mixed Doubles in 2006, he joined the elite group of eight tennis players who have achieved a Career Mixed Doubles Grand Slam. In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest awards. Bhupathi is an alumnus of the University of Mississippi in the United States. He was married to model Shvetha Jaishankar, but the couple has now separated,they had been married for seven years.[2]

Contents

Career

Mahesh Bhupathi is best known as one of the top doubles players in the 90's and the 00's. In 1999, Bhupathi won three doubles titles with Leander Paes including Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He and Leander became the first doubles team to reach finals of all four Grand Slams, the first time such a feat has been achieved in the Open era and the first time since 1952. On April 26 that year, they became the World No. 1 doubles team. Bhupathi also won the US Open mixed doubles with Ai Sugiyama of Japan.

In 2006, Bhupathi teamed with Martina Hingis in the Australian Open mixed doubles competition. Entering the tournament unseeded and as wildcards[3], the first-time pair defeated four seeded opponents along the way, while only dropping a single set throughout. Bhupathi and Hingis defeated the sixth-seeded team of Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3 to capture the championship. It was the sixth mixed doubles Grand Slam for Bhupathi, and a first for Hingis. By winning Australian Open, Bhupathi completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.

In 2007, Bhupathi and Czech Radek Štěpánek reached the 2007 Australian Open men's doubles event's quarterfinals. He teamed with Štěpánek at the 2007 French Open to make the doubles semifinals, defeating dual-year defending champions Jonas Björkman and Max Mirnyi in the quarterfinals. The team lost to the eventual champions Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. After Wimbledon Bhupathi teamed along with Pavel Vízner to win the 2007 Canada Masters defeating the top-ranked doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan en route. After this victory, he won a tournament in New Haven with Nenad Zimonjić. At the 2007 U.S. Open, he and Zimonjić paired in doubles. After the U.S. Open, the team that beat Bhupathi and Štěpánek in the French Open semifinals, Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, split. Bhupathi was to become the new partner of Mark Knowles[4] while Zimonjić will partner Nestor, but back surgery means he is now expected to be out until the end of the year[5].

In 2009, Bhupathi and doubles partner Sania Mirza won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open, beating Nathalie Dechy (France) and Andy Ram (Israel) 6-3, 6-1 in the final in Melbourne. The ace Indian pair thus made up for the disappointment of last year's final when they were beaten by Tiantian Sun and Nenad Zimonjić. With this win, Bhupathi's count in mixed doubles Grand Slam titles swells to seven.

Bhupathi broke up his partnership with Knowles and began playing once again with Max Mirnyi, with whom he played with to win the 2002 U.S. Open in 2010.

Grand Slam titles

Doubles

Wins (4)
Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents in final Score in final
1999 French Open Clay India Leander Paes Croatia Goran Ivanišević
United States Jeff Tarango
6–2, 7–5
1999 Wimbledon Grass India Leander Paes Netherlands Paul Haarhuis
United States Jared Palmer
6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6
2001 French Open (2) Clay India Leander Paes Czech Republic Petr Pála
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–6, 6–3
2002 U.S. Open Hard Belarus Max Mirnyi Czech Republic Jiří Novák
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Runner-ups (5)
Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents in final Score in final
1999 Australian Open Hard India Leander Paes Sweden Jonas Björkman
Australia Patrick Rafter
3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 7–610, 4–6
1999 U.S. Open Hard India Leander Paes Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
6–7, 4–6
2003 Wimbledon Grass Belarus Max Mirnyi Sweden Jonas Björkman
Australia Todd Woodbridge
6–3, 3–6, 6–74, 3–6
2009 Australian Open (2) Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
6–2, 5–7, 0–6
2009 U.S. Open (2) Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
India Leander Paes
6–3, 3–6, 2–6

Mixed doubles: 10 (7-3)

By winning the 2006 Australian Open title, Bhupathi completed the mixed doubles Career Grand Slam. He became the eight male player in history to achieve this.

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Winner 1997 French Open Clay Japan Rika Hiraki United States Patrick Galbraith
United States Lisa Raymond
6–4, 6–1
Runner-up 1998 Wimbledon Grass Croatia Mirjana Lučić United States Serena Williams
Belarus Max Mirnyi
6-4, 6-4
Winner 1999 US Open Hard Japan Ai Sugiyama United States Donald Johnson
United States Kimberly Po
6–4, 6–4
Winner 2002 Wimbledon Grass Russia Elena Likhovtseva Slovakia Daniela Hantuchová
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–2, 7–5
Runner-up 2003 French Open Clay Russia Elena Likhovtseva United States Lisa Raymond
United States Mike Bryan
6–3, 6–4
Winner 2005 Wimbledon (2) Grass France Mary Pierce Australia Paul Hanley
Ukraine Tatiana Perebiynis
6–4, 6–2
Winner 2005 US Open (2) Hard Slovakia Daniela Hantuchová Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–2
Winner 2006 Australian Open Hard Switzerland Martina Hingis Russia Elena Likhovtseva
Canada Daniel Nestor
6–3, 6–3
Runner-up 2008 Australian Open Hard India Sania Mirza People's Republic of China Sun Tiantian
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
7–6(4), 6–4
Winner 2009 Australian Open (2) Hard India Sania Mirza France Nathalie Dechy
Israel Andy Ram
6–3, 6–1

Finals (79)

Bhupathi serves in his 3rd round doubles match, partnering Mark Knowles during 2008 US Open.

Wins (45)

Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam (4)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (12)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (6)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (23)
Titles by Surface
Hard (26)
Clay (13)
Grass (1)
Carpet (5)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score
1. April 14, 1997 Chennai, India Hard India Leander Paes Uzbekistan Oleg Ogorodov
Israel Eyal Ran
7–6, 7–5
2. May 5, 1997 Prague, Czech Republic Clay India Leander Paes Czech Republic Petr Luxa
Czech Republic David Škoch
6–1, 6–1
3. August 4, 1997 Montréal, Canada Hard India Leander Paes Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
7–6, 6–3
4. August 18, 1997 New Haven, U.S. Hard India Leander Paes Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
6–4, 6–7, 6–2
5. October 6, 1997 Beijing, China Hard (i) India Leander Paes United States Jim Courier
United States Alex O'Brien
7–5, 7–6
6. October 13, 1997 Singapore Carpet India Leander Paes United States Rick Leach
United States Jonathan Stark
6–4, 6–4
7. January 12, 1998 Doha, Qatar Hard India Leander Paes France Olivier Delaître
France Fabrice Santoro
6–4, 3–6, 6–4
8. February 16, 1998 Dubai, UAE Hard India Leander Paes United States Donald Johnson
United States Francisco Montana
6–2, 7–5
9. April 13, 1998 Chennai, India Hard India Leander Paes France Olivier Delaître
Belarus Max Mirnyi
6–7, 6–3, 6–2
10. May 18, 1998 Rome, Italy Clay India Leander Paes South Africa Ellis Ferreira
United States Rick Leach
6–4, 4–6, 7–6
11. October 12, 1998 Shanghai, China Carpet India Leander Paes Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
6–4, 6–7, 7–6
12. November 9, 1998 Paris, France Carpet India Leander Paes Netherlands Jacco Eltingh
Netherlands Paul Haarhuis
6–4, 6–2
13. April 12, 1999 Chennai, India Hard India Leander Paes Zimbabwe Wayne Black
South Africa Neville Godwin
4–6, 7–5, 6–4
14. June 7, 1999 French Open, Paris Clay India Leander Paes Croatia Goran Ivanišević
United States Jeff Tarango
6–2, 7–5
15. July 5, 1999 Wimbledon, London Grass India Leander Paes Netherlands Paul Haarhuis
United States Jared Palmer
6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6
16. May 29, 2000 St. Poelten, Austria Clay Australia Andrew Kratzmann Italy Andrea Gaudenzi
Italy Diego Nargiso
7–6, 6–7, 6–4
17. October 16, 2000 Tokyo, Japan Hard India Leander Paes Australia Michael Hill
United States Jeff Tarango
6–4, 6–7, 6–3
18. April 30, 2001 Atlanta, U.S. Clay India Leander Paes United States Rick Leach
Australia David Macpherson
6–3, 7–6
19. May 7, 2001 Houston, U.S. Clay India Leander Paes United States Kevin Kim
United States Jim Thomas
7–6, 6–2
20. June 11, 2001 French Open, Paris Clay India Leander Paes Czech Republic Petr Pála
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–6, 6–3
21. August 13, 2001 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard India Leander Paes Czech Republic Martin Damm
Germany David Prinosil
7–6, 6–3
22. January 7, 2002 Chennai, India Hard India Leander Paes Czech Republic Tomáš Cibulec
Czech Republic Ota Fukárek
5–7, 6–2, 7–5
23. May 6, 2002 Majorca, Spain Clay India Leander Paes Austria Julian Knowle
Germany Michael Kohlmann
6–2, 6–4
24. May 20, 2002 Hamburg, Germany Clay United States Jan-Michael Gambill Sweden Jonas Björkman
Australia Todd Woodbridge
6–2, 6–4
25. August 26, 2002 Long Island, U.S. Hard United States Mike Bryan Czech Republic Petr Pála
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
6–3, 6–4
26. September 9, 2002 U.S. Open, New York Hard Belarus Max Mirnyi Czech Republic Jiří Novák
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
6–3, 3–6, 6–4
27. April 14, 2003 Estoril, Portugal Clay Belarus Max Mirnyi Argentina Lucas Arnold Ker
Argentina Mariano Hood
6–1, 6–2
28. April 21, 2003 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Belarus Max Mirnyi France Michaël Llodra
France Fabrice Santoro
6–4, 3–6, 7–6
29. August 11, 2003 Montréal, Canada Hard Belarus Max Mirnyi Sweden Jonas Björkman
Australia Todd Woodbridge
6–3, 7–6
30. October 6, 2003 Moscow, Russia Carpet Belarus Max Mirnyi Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–3, 7–5
31. October 20, 2003 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) Belarus Max Mirnyi Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–2, 2–6, 6–3
32. January 19, 2004 Auckland, New Zealand Hard France Fabrice Santoro Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
4–6, 7–5, 6–3
33. March 8, 2004 Dubai, UAE Hard France Fabrice Santoro Sweden Jonas Björkman
India Leander Paes
6–2, 4–6, 6–4
34. May 10, 2004 Rome, Italy Clay Belarus Max Mirnyi Australia Wayne Arthurs
Australia Paul Hanley
2–6, 6–3, 6–4
35. July 12, 2004 Båstad, Sweden Clay Sweden Jonas Björkman Sweden Simon Aspelin
Australia Todd Perry
4–6, 7–6, 7–6
36. August 2, 2004 Toronto, Canada Hard India Leander Paes Sweden Jonas Björkman
Belarus Max Mirnyi
6–4, 6–2
37. January 17, 2005 Sydney, Australia Hard Australia Todd Woodbridge France Arnaud Clément
France Michaël Llodra
6–3, 6–3
38. September 18, 2006 Beijing, China Hard Croatia Mario Ančić Germany Michael Berrer
Denmark Kenneth Carlsen
6–4, 6–3
39. October 2, 2006 Mumbai, India Hard Croatia Mario Ančić India Rohan Bopanna
India Mustafa Ghouse
6–4, 6–7, [10-8]
40. August 12, 2007 Montréal, Canada Hard Czech Republic Pavel Vízner Australia Paul Hanley
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
6–4, 6–4
41. August 25, 2007 New Haven, U.S. Hard Serbia Nenad Zimonjić Poland Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Poland Marcin Matkowski
6–3, 6–3
42. March 2, 2008 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) The Bahamas Mark Knowles Thailand Sanchai Ratiwatana
Thailand Sonchat Ratiwatana
7–6, 6–2
43. March 8, 2008 Dubai, UAE Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles Czech Republic Martin Damm
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–5, 7–6
44. October 18, 2008 Basel, Switzerland Carpet The Bahamas Mark Knowles Germany Christopher Kas
Germany Philipp Kohlschreiber
6–3, 6–3
45. August 16, 2009 Montréal, Canada Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles Belarus Max Mirnyi
Israel Andy Ram
6–4, 6–3

Runner-ups (36)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score
1. July 28, 1997 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Rick Leach Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
7–6, 6–4
2. November 23, 1997 Doubles Championships, Hartford Carpet India Leander Paes United States Rick Leach
United States Jonathan Stark
6–3, 6–4, 7–6
3. October 19, 1998 Singapore Carpet India Leander Paes Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde
6–2, 6–3
4. November 2, 1998 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) India Leander Paes Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
6–3, 3–6, 7–5
5. February 1, 1999 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard India Leander Paes Sweden Jonas Björkman
Australia Patrick Rafter
6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4
6 September 13, 1999 U.S. Open, New York Hard India Leander Paes Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
7–6, 6–4
7. November 15, 1999 Doubles Championships, Hartford Carpet India Leander Paes Canada Sébastien Lareau
United States Alex O'Brien
6–3, 6–2, 6–2
8. June 19, 2000 Halle, Germany Grass Germany David Prinosil Sweden Nicklas Kulti
Sweden Mikael Tillström
7–6, 7–6
9. December 17, 2000 Doubles Championships, Bangalore Hard India Leander Paes United States Donald Johnson
South Africa Piet Norval
7–6, 6–3, 6–4
10. August 20, 2001 Indianapolis, U.S. Hard Canada Sébastien Lareau The Bahamas Mark Knowles
United States Brian MacPhie
7–6, 5–7, 6–4
11. October 8, 2001 Moscow, Russia Carpet United States Jeff Tarango Belarus Max Mirnyi
Australia Sandon Stolle
6–3, 6–0
12. October 29, 2001 Basel, Switzerland Carpet India Leander Paes South Africa Ellis Ferreira
United States Rick Leach
7–6, 6–4
13. November 5, 2001 Paris, France Carpet India Leander Paes South Africa Ellis Ferreira
United States Rick Leach
3–6, 6–4, 6–3
14. June 17, 2002 London/Queen's Club, England Grass Belarus Max Mirnyi Zimbabwe Wayne Black
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
7–5, 6–3
15. August 12, 2002 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard Belarus Max Mirnyi United States James Blake
United States Todd Martin
7–5, 6–3
16. August 19, 2002 Indianapolis, U.S. Hard Belarus Max Mirnyi The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
7–6, 6–7, 6–4
17. October 21, 2002 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) Belarus Max Mirnyi The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
6–3, 7–5, 6–0
18. January 13, 2003 Sydney, Australia Hard Australia Joshua Eagle Australia Paul Hanley
Australia Nathan Healey
7–6, 6–4
19. May 19, 2003 Hamburg, Germany Clay Belarus Max Mirnyi The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
6–4, 7–6
20. June 16, 2003 London/Queen's Club, England Grass Belarus Max Mirnyi The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
5–7, 6–4, 7–6
21. July 7, 2003 Wimbledon, London Grass Belarus Max Mirnyi Sweden Jonas Björkman
Australia Todd Woodbridge
3–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3
22. October 13, 2003 Vienna, Austria Hard (i) Belarus Max Mirnyi Switzerland Yves Allegro
Switzerland Roger Federer
7–6, 7–5
23. October 18, 2004 Moscow, Russia Carpet Sweden Jonas Björkman Russia Igor Andreev
Russia Nikolay Davydenko
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
24. January 10, 2005 Chennai, India Hard Sweden Jonas Björkman Republic of China Yen-Hsun Lu
Germany Rainer Schüttler
7–5, 4–6, 7–6
25. March 5, 2007 Dubai, UAE Hard Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek France Fabrice Santoro
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
7–5, 6–7, [10-7]
26. March 26, 2008 Miami, U.S. Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
6–2, 6–2
27. April 27, 2008 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay The Bahamas Mark Knowles Spain Rafael Nadal
Spain Tommy Robredo
6–3, 6–3
28. June 15, 2008 s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass India Leander Paes Croatia Mario Ančić
Austria Jürgen Melzer
7–6, 6–3
29. August 23, 2008 New Haven, U.S. Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles Brazil Marcelo Melo
Brazil André Sá
7–5, 6–2
30. October 6, 2008 Vienna, Austria Hard (i) The Bahamas Mark Knowles Belarus Max Mirnyi
Israel Andy Ram
6–1, 7–5
31. October 13, 2008 Madrid, Spain Hard (i) The Bahamas Mark Knowles Poland Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Poland Marcin Matkowski
6–4, 6–2
32. January 31, 2009 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
2–6, 7–5, 6–0
33. April 26, 2009 Barcelona, Spain Clay The Bahamas Mark Knowles Canada Daniel Nestor
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–3, 7–6
34. September 13, 2009 U.S. Open, New York Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
India Leander Paes
3–6, 6–3, 6–2
35. April 3, 2010 Miami, U.S. Hard Belarus Max Mirnyi Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
India Leander Paes
6–2, 7–5
36. April 18, 2010 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Belarus Max Mirnyi Canada Daniel Nestor
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–3, 2–0, RET.

Doubles performance timeline

Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Career SR
Grand Slams
Australian Open A A A A A 1R SF F A 1R 2R 1R QF QF 3R QF SF F 1R 0 / 13
French Open A A A A A 2R SF W 2R W SF QF SF 1R QF SF 1R 3R 2R 2 / 14
Wimbledon A A A LQ LQ 1R 2R W 3R 1R QF F 3R 2R 1R A 1R QF 1 / 12
U.S. Open A A A 2R LQ SF SF F 1R 1R W QF 3R 3R 1R 2R 3R F 1 / 14
Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 4 0 / 4 2 / 4 0 / 3 1 / 4 1 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 2 4 / 53
Year-End Championship
Tennis Masters Cup A A A A A F RR F F RR NH RR RR A A A RR SF 0 / 9
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics A Not Held 2R Not Held 2R Not Held SF Not Held QF Not Held 0 / 4
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells Masters A A A A A A A SF A 1R 2R 2R SF 1R 1R 1R QF 2R 1R 0 / 11
Miami Masters A A A A A 2R 1R 2R A A QF 1R 2R QF A 1R F 1R F 0 / 11
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A A A SF 2R A SF 1R W QF QF SF 2R F QF F 1 / 12
Rome Masters A A A A A A W 1R 1R 1R QF SF W SF 2R 1R 2R SF 2R 2 / 13
Madrid Masters A A A A A QF F A 2R QF F W SF QF 1R A F 2R A 1 / 11
Canada Masters A A A A A W SF A QF 1R 2R W W QF A W QF W 5 / 11
Cincinnati Masters A A A A A QF 1R 2R 1R W F SF QF QF 2R 2R SF SF 1 / 13
Shanghai Masters Not Masters Series SF 0 / 1
Paris Masters A A A A A 1R W 2R 1R F 2R A SF A A A 2R 2R 1 / 9
Hamburg Masters A A A A A A QF 2R 2R 1R W F 2R QF 1R 2R 2R NMS 1 / 11
Masters Series SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 5 2 / 8 0 / 7 0 / 6 1 / 8 1 / 9 3 / 8 2 / 9 0 / 8 0 / 6 1 / 7 0 / 9 1 / 9 0 / 4 12 / 103
Tournament Wins 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 3 2 4 5 5 5 1 2 2 3 1 0 N/A
Year End Ranking 668 385 248 162 106 11 3 2 39 6 4 4 7 19 30 21 6 7 N/A

A = did not attend tournament.
NH = tournament not held.
LQ = lost in the qualifying draw.
NMS = not Masters Series

Davis Cup and Asian Games

Mahesh Bhupathi has donned Indian colors numerous times for the Davis Cup as well as other international fixtures including Asian Games.

Mahesh Bhupathi has played 46 matches for India in the Davis Cup (from 1995 to 2006), winning 28 and losing 18. Out of the 28 matches that he won, 20 of his victories came in doubles matches.

In 2006, Bhupathi won the doubles championship with Leander Paes at the Asian Games in Doha.

Relationship with Leander Paes

From the pinnacle of 1999 to the depths of 2006, the relationship between two top Indian players, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi has fluctuated, turning from great to bad to worse. The two forged a formidable partnership in the late 90s and steeply climbed the ladder of the doubles rankings. They played so well as a team such that it prompted the then top Australian doubles pair of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge (known as the Woodies) to predict that they expected Bhupathi and Paes to take their place in tennis doubles after they left the scene. Together with Paes, Bhupathi featured in several memorable grand slam matches, Olympic matches as well as Davis Cup matches for India. From such a high, the relationship between the pair gradually deteriorated and reached a point of no communication. The exact cause or causes for the rift has never been known so far though various factors like ego clashes, each player garnering more attention than the other have been rumoured over the years. Just after winning the 2006 Asian games, both of the players announced that they would never play again together. In spite of the cold relationship between them, they decided to play together in the Beijing 2008 Olympics for a possible medal chance in the doubles event. Bhupathi had initially shot a letter to the AITA stating that he did not want to play with Paes in the Olympic Games preferring Bopanna instead as his partner.

Bhupathi had said, "Leander and I are best option for India but we need to go with some kind of preparation. We need to build a team. It's not about past performances. Rohan Bopanna and I are better prepared as a team", The AITA responded by saying that it would not change the doubles team pairing and that it was up to Paes and Bhupathi to ensure that the differences between them did not come in the way of national glory. (Reuters) However, Bhupathi and Paes decided to once again form a doubles pair, and entered the 2008 Ordina Open together to attain the second seed. They finished as Runners up in their comeback tournament. They partnered in the men's doubles event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but lost in the quarter finals [6] to Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who went on to win the men's doubles gold medal [7].

Sports Management

Mahesh Bhupathi has also been involved in developing tennis facilities in India and along with his company Globosport he has played in a key role in developing and managing the careers of many Indian athletes including the new Indian tennis star, Sania Mirza[8].

Awards

References

  1. Hiraki was the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam tournament, while Bhupathi was the first Indian of any kind to win a Grand Slam in Mixed Doubles
  2. http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-43051120091009
  3. Source
  4. Team profile
  5. Bhupathi to undergo back surgery
  6. 2008 Ordina Open Men's Doubles Draw
  7. "Federer leads Swiss to doubles gold". http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/aug/16swiss.htm. 
  8. Sania Mirza signs up with Globosport - Times of India article dtd 14 May 2003 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/46367823.cms

External links