Mumbai: Leander Paes, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna are the renowned players in the world of tennis doubles. However, playing doubles needs sheer focus, coordination and good rapport with the partner- these element seemed to lack in the players.
During the Davis Cup tie between India and Spain in New Delhi, Paes brought up the issue of missing out on a medal in the mixed doubles event at the recently held Rio Olympics.
“I can very clearly say that in this Olympics and the last Olympics we didn’t put the best team forward. This Olympics the mixed doubles was a great opportunity. What more does a man need to do than win four Grand Slams in 14 months,” Paes said referring to his noteworthy success in the mixed doubles run.
“There were no more tournaments to win, I could not create anymore tournaments. Sad. Long story short, let’s nurture these kids,” Paes added.
Sania and Bopanna had been partnered to represent India and play the mixed doubles at the Games. They made it to the semis, losing their bronze to Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek.
Paes’ loose comment was not taken well by the the tennis duo and they slammed his remark, keeping his anonymity intact.
“The ONLY way to win with a toxic person, is not to play!!! #karmaiswatching #zenmode,” tweeted a fuming Sania.
It was retweeted by Bopanna and he added his bit of frustration with a sharp tweet.
This isn’t the first time the cold war between Paes and Bopanna/Sania has surfaced in the media.
Even before the Rio Games, tension between Bopanna and Paes was evident during the men’s doubles event.
Bopanna wrote a letter to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) asking to be paired with the much lower ranked Saketh Myneni instead of Paes. Paes being the obvious choice, was chosen by AITA.
It was said that Paes arrived late to the Games, giving almost no time for practice. The outcome of the partnership was a humble loss of 4-6, 6-7 to Poland’s Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski in the first round.
Bopanna being amongst the top 10 ranked players in the world in men’s doubles got a direct entry to the Games, unlike Paes. The bitterness remained.
Sania’s and Paes’ strained relationship dates back to 2012 London Olympics. Where she has to pair up with Paes for the mixed doubles, as told by the AITA. Since Mahesh Bhupati and Bopanna had both backed out.
This time, however the women’s double would No.1 announced to choose her own mate for the mixed doubles at the Games. Sania thus, chose Bopanna over Paes, almost acquiring the bronze medal.
It’s mucky in the world of Indian tennis. India just lost 5-0 the Davis Cup World Group play off versus Spain. Paes had to pair up with Sanketh Myneni, since Bopanna wasn’t available.
But the combined efforts of the Indians weren’t enough, as they had to lock horns with the Spanish bull Rafael Nadal, who was just ready in time to take the court by storm, inspite of Paes’ commendable efforts.
The frustration of the match is surely seen laced in the comments passed by Paes.