Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi should not be forced to play together at the London Olympics if they are not comfortable in playing as a team, feels Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna saved a match point to breeze into the title clash of the ATP World Tour finale after defeating Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek via Super tie-breaker, in London on Sunday.
Admitting that his pairing with Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles category would have been the best bet for India in the London Olympics, Mahesh Bhupathi on Tuesday said that the Indian star player was used without even being consulted.
Sania Mirza, who got a wild card entry for the Olympics, indicated she has no problem in partnering Leander Paes in the mixed doubles event in London but hit out at the AITA for using her as a "bait" in the selection row.
Indian football legend Chuni Goswami slammed the AITA for not acting firm against Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the Olympics doubles team selection row and said some action should be taken against them.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna's hopes of making it to the semi-finals at the ATP World Tour Finals remained alive after they beat Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau 6-3, 5-7, 10-5 in their second outing at the O2 Arena, in London, on Wednesday.
The Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna squandered two match-points before losing to Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen in their opening match at the ATP World Tour Finals, in London, on Tuesday. The Indians, making their debut as a pair in the elite season-ending event, lost their Group B match 6-4, 7-6(1), 10-12 in 96 minutes.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Thursday slammed Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for dictating terms to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) over selection of the team for the 2012 Olympics.
AITA claimed to have worked out a compromise formula to resolve the selection crisis for the Olympics by deciding to send two men's doubles teams for the event, pairing Leander Paes with a lower-ranked Vishnu Vardhan.
India's leading tennis player Leander Paes slammed the warring duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for refusing to pair with him at the London Olympics and said he will withdraw from the Games if the All India Tennis Association decides to send two teams.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna clinched the Paris Masters, their second title of the year, after scoring a hard-fought win over Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, on Sunday.
The Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna stood just win away from for its second ATP men's doubles title together this season after advancing to the BNP Paribas Masters final in Paris.
Sports minister Ajay Maken has refused to intervene in the selection crisis that has shaken Indian tennis, and left it to the All India Tennis Association to take a final call on the men's doubles combination for the London Olympics.
India's ace doubles player Leander Paes wrote to the All India Tennis Association on Monday, saying it will be unfair on him if Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna are paired as a second team for the 2012 Olympics.
India on Friday recorded an all win-day at the Australian Open with Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna winning their respective doubles matches in Melbourne.
AITA selector Rohit Rajpal termed the joint statement issued Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, criticising the sports body for not considering their demand to select them as a team for London Olympics, as "unfortunate".
The timing of a Grand Slam title victory could not have been better for Sania Mirza, who is desperately seeking a wild card entry into the London Olympics, which in all probability is her last chance to become an Olympic medal winner.
Mahesh Bhupathi celebrated his 38th birthday in style, as he and Sania Mirza captured their second mixed doubles title together after beating Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gozalez 7-6, 6-1 in the French Open final on Thursday.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the ATP Shanghai Masters, their third tour-level title of the season, after defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 6-7(7), 6-3, 10-5.
The Indian duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna has set up a summit clash with Leander Paes and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek after both the pairs won their respective semi-final matches in the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna may meet Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek in the summit clash of the Shanghai Masters after reaching the semifinals of the elite ATP tournament on Friday.
High on confidence after their good performances in Rome and Madrid ATP Masters, the doubles duo of Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna of India is eyeing this year's French Open title.
Young India Davis Cupper Yuki Bhambri stumbled at the first step of the ATP China Open qualifiers, losing in straight sets to Donald Young, in Beijing.
Non-playing captain Shiv Prakash Misra on the new Davis Cup team, the ban and future of Indian tennis.
Mahesh Bhupathi will retire form tennis next year. The 38-year-old, the first Indian to win a Grand Slam title -- when he partnered Japan's Rika Hiraki to win the mixed doubles at the French Open in 1997 -- announced he will hang up his racket at the end of next year.
Insisting that it had not imposed a ban on Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) said that by sidelining the duo, it was sending out a message that indiscipline will not be tolerated at any cost.
All India Tennis Association (AITA) will stick to the young Indian side and will not include Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna in the Davis Cup squad until the country moves up from the Asia/Oceania Group.
Faced with problem of plenty, India's Davis Cup coach Nandan Bal said, the doubles combination for the Davis Cup tie against New Zealand will be decided on the basis of players' fitness levels and weather conditions.
The actress turns 37 today, April 16.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna have earned a chance to win their second title of the season by reaching the summit clash of the ATP Cincinnati Masters with a straight sets win over Croatia's Ivan Dodig and Brazil's Marcelo Melo.
Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, who were omitted from India's Davis Cup team, have reached the semi-finals of the ATP Cincinnati Masters with a hard-earned win over third seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.
Winning an Olympic medal may remain an unfulfilled dream for Sania Mirza but the Indian tennis ace is not losing sleep over it and would continue to push her battle-hardened body to win one or two Grand Slam titles before ending her career.
The Indo-Czech pair of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP Madrid Masters after getting a first-round bye.
Paes and Vardhan went down fighting 6-7, 6-4, 3-6 to the French combine of Jo-Wilfried Tsong and Michael Llodra on Wednesday but despite the loss, Paes was all praise for inexperienced partner Vardhan.
India's challenge in the men's doubles competition at the London Olympics came to an end on Wednesday with the makeshift pair of Leander Paes and Vishnu Vardhan going down to the French combine of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra. The French pair won 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP Masters event at Indian Wells but Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna suffered a shock first round defeat.
India had a relatively fruitful day on the tennis courts of Wimbledon, with the warring duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi advancing to the second round of the men's doubles with their respective partners, even as the country's singles challenge ended at the London Olympics with the defeat of Vishnu Vardhan.
Doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna said it would take some more time for him and senior partner Mahesh Bhupathi to get adjusted to each other before they strike a right chord in ATP tennis circuit.
Roger Federer does not have a clue about the turmoil that rocked Indian tennis before the Olympics but the world number one is quite sure that Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna have a decent chance of winning a medal at the Games that start on Friday.
Mahesh Bhupathi clinched his 50th career title and his first with Rohan Bopanna when the duo outwitted Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski to lift the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships doubles men's trophy.
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