Despite Mahesh Bhupathi lashing out at him in public over the selection of the men's doubles team for the London Olympics, Leander Paes refused to react and said he is ready to play with his former partner.
'The team will be chosen the day before the draw. I am not sure who is going to play doubles. I am not sure if I am going to have any doubles players at all but whatever needs to win I will make sure that happens'
Touching a new high, Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna on Monday became World No 3 player in the world with a jump of two places in the latest ATP ranking chart.
In a big setback to the Indian Davis Cup team, country's leading singles player Yuki Bhambri was, on Sunday, ruled out of the upcoming tie against Uzbekistan due to a knee injury.
On a largely disappointing day for Indian tennis players, Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza lost their respective doubles matches in the second round of the Australian Open, leaving the country's challenge restricted to the mixed doubles competition.
Rohan Bopanna and debutant N Sriram Balaji were clinical in routing their rivals as India sealed the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Uzbekistan by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
The doubles ace said the three youngsters are the future of Indian tennis.
They may no longer be partners on the international circuit but Pakistan's top tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has not given up on the idea of teaming up with India's Rohan Bopanna for a 'peace match' to bolster Indo-Pak ties.
Prakash Amritraj will play the second singles against Sjeng Schalken in the Davis Cup tie against Holland.
Ace India doubles player Rohan Bopanna will partner US-based Rajeev Ram at the Chennai Open tennis tournament to be held in Chennai from December 31 to January 6.
Rohan Bopanna and Rajeev Ram's campaign at the ATP Indian Wells Masters ended in the first round itself after a straight sets defeat against Lukas Kubot of Poland and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
Bopanna and Sharan defeated Kazakhstan's Aleksander Bublik and Denis Yevseyev 6-3, 6-4 in 52 minutes.
India's Rohan Bopanna and Belarussian partner Max Mirnyi reached the doubles final of the St Petersburg Open defeating Mikhail Mertinak of Slovakia and Lovro Zovko of Croatia 7-5, 6-2 in St Petersburg on Saturday.
India's tennis stars enjoyed comfortable wins in the Australian Open on Thursday as Sania Mirza eased into the second round with partner Martina Hingis while Rohan Bopanna also registered a straight sets victory in the men's doubles first round.
Leander Paes and Martina Hingis eased into the mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals of the Wimbledon championships but it was curtains for Rohan Bopanna and his Spanish partner Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
India's doubles ace Mahesh Bhupathi tells the AITA he prefers partnering Rohan Bopanna in the doubles event at the Beijing Olympics.
Leander Paes is the other singles player and will team up with Mahesh Bhupathi for the doubles in the Davis Cup tie against New Zealand.
Reader Ajay Kulkarni sent us this picture from Paris.
The ace Indian pair beat Kwon-Oh Hee and Jun Woong-Sun in the doubles match of the Davis Cup Asia-Ocenia Group I tie.
Fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi overcame a late resistance from Arnaud Clement and Nicolas Mahut to advance to the second round of the men's doubles event of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Veteran tennis star Leander Paes was retained in the Indian Davis Cup team for next month's Asia/Oceania Zone tie against Uzbekistan.
The doubles specialist made the team at the expense of Prakash Amritraj, who was rendered ineligible after the new sports policy that bars foreign passport holders from representing the country. Amritraj holds a United States passport.
India's campaign at the US Open ended after the fifth seeded Indo-Pak pair of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi crashed out following a straight-set loss to the Polish pair of Marcin Matkowski and Maruisz Fyrstenberg in the men's doubles semi-final in New York.
The fifth seeded Indo-Pak pair of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi entered the semi-finals of the mens' doubles event of the US Open defeating the British pair of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins in a gruelling three-setter.
Veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi and debutants Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi were, on Tuesday, placed in different groups for the season-ending ATP World Tour finals, starting, in London, on Sunday.
A runners-up finish at the St. Petersburg Open propelled Rohan Bopanna to career-best ranking of number 14 in the ATP doubles charts and also helped his team with Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi get back the number six rank.
India's Rohan Bopanna was knocked out of the men's doubles at the French Open after he along with his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi were outplayed by top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan in the opening round. The unseeded Indo-Pak combine, who made their Grand Slam debut as a pair, went down 1-6, 4-6 in just 53 minutes in the first round clash on Thursday.
'The best bet for Indian tennis to win a medal at the Olympics would be having Leander and Bopanna together.' Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com reveals how the AITA convinced Rohan Bopanna to partner Leander Paes in Rio,
Mahesh Bhupathi said he has no 'personal agenda' in keeping Leander Paes out of India's Davis Cup team and said his former partner's decision to leave Bangalore mid-way into the tie was a final nail in the coffin.
India's Rohan Bopanna won his first Grand Slam as he and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski.
Why did the AITA pair Sania Mirza with Rohan Bopanna for the mixed doubles at the Olympics?
Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi progressed to the quarter-finals of the St Petersburg Open after a hard-earned win over Sergiy Stakhovsky and Mikhail Youzhny. The 'Indo-Pak Express', aiming to make the ATP World Tour finals, beat their unseeded opponents 6-2, 2-6, 10-3 in the first round of the US $663,750 hard court event.
Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea on Saturday made it to the final of the men's doubles event at the ATP World Tour Finals, in London, after registering a straight-set victory against Croatian Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo of Brazil.
Leander Paes felt humiliated that he was called all the way from Mexico, only to be dropped.
Sports Minister Ajay Maken has questioned the All India Tennis Association's decision to pair feuding former partners Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi for the Olympics, asking why just one team is being insisted upon for the event where the country can send two.
India's Rohan Bopanna on Monday jumped four places to 12th in the latest doubles ranking chart. The soar in rankings was courtesy his title victory at the ATP Dubai 500 event.
Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi insists that his consistent presence on the pro circuit should not be considered preparations for the Rio Olympics.
Ramkumar to play opening singles tie against Schnur, Yuki takes on Shapovalov on day 1
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