Another mega event and we have another fall out between Leander Paes and the All India Tennis Association (AITA). Just two days ahead of the start of the Asian Games, 18-time Grand Slam champion Paes decided to pull out of the event because he was being asked to play doubles with a struggling singles player Sumit Nagal. The AITA decided to pair India’s top doubles players Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan for the other men’s doubles match at the Asian Games.
Here’s a look at some of the other public spats involving Leander Paes.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were one of the best-ever doubles partners in the world. They won 23 ATP titles and 3 Grand Slams as a team. In 1999, they became the first Indian pair to reach the final of the each of the Grand Slam events. They also scaled to the World Number 1 ranking in the same year.
However, towards the end of 1999, Bhupathi underwent a shoulder surgery and Paes was unhappy with the timing of the surgery. That’s where the trouble between the two began. And they decided to split for the first time in 2000.
Further, Paes was miffed about Bhupathi hiring Enrico Piperno as his personal coach.
After their split in 2000, Paes and Bhupathi tried to resurrect their flourishing partnership, but failed on multiple occasions.
Ahead of the 2012 Olympics, the AITA decided that Paes and Bhupathi should play in the men’s doubles draw for India. But Bhupathi, who regularly played with Bopanna at that time, refused to play with Paes. Even Bopanna didn’t want to partner Paes at the Olympics.
Thereafter, the AITA let Bhupathi and Bopanna have their way and asked Paes to play doubles with Vishnu Vardhan, who was ranked 307. Paes wasn’t too happy about playing Vardhan and said will participate in the Olympics, only if Sania Mirza plays mixed doubles with him. Paes reportedly wanted a written assurance from Mirza that she will play mixed doubles only with him.
Mirza, miffed about the situation, lashed out at Paes.
Mirza, who had won the French Open mixed doubles title just before the Olympics, preferred to play the mixed doubles competition with Mahesh Bhupathi. Since she won the Grand Slam with him.
However, finally, Mirza unhappily played the mixed doubles tournament with Paes.
After Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna lost the bronze medal play-off match at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Paes made a strong statement saying ‘India haven’t sent their best teams in the last two Olympics.’
Sania Mirza didn’t take the the statement too well and in reply she called Paes ‘toxic’.
Rohan Bopanna, too, showed his dissent towards Paes’ statement.
Paes and Bhupathi were at each other yet again, but this time not as doubles partners, but as player and non-playing captain. Bhupathi, who is Indian Davis Cup team’s non-playing captain, dropped Paes from the Indian Davis Cup team for the match against Uzbekistan in April 2017.
Rohan Bopanna made the cut, despite Paes winning a Challenger title in Mexico only a few days before the selection was made. Paes was dropped from the David Cup for the first time in his career. He was always picked in the Davis Cup team for 27 years.
Paes said Bhupathi had flouted selection criteria.
Bhupathi said that Paes hadn’t played in Davis Cup doubles highest stress situations before the Uzbekistan rubber.
Bhupathi added that Paes would have had more chances to get selected had he arrived earlier.
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