Bangalore, India — In an exclusive interview with www.espnstar.com, Indian Davis Cup Captain Leander Paes said that his decision to play doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi was one of the worstdecisions of his career. Leander Paes said that he sacrificed his singles career by opting to play doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi in the late Nineties. Leander & Mahesh will team up for the doubles in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group I clash versus Japan at the DLTA on Saturday.

Speaking to www.espnstar.com, Leander said, “When I was at the top of my singles career, I actually sacrificed my rankings to play Satellites and Future tournaments with him (Bhupathi) so that he could be at par with me which would help us get entry into ATP tournaments. Even though everyone advised me not to pick up a rookie player like Mahesh, my instincts told
me to take him along.”

“Now, when I look back, I regret the fact that I sacrificed my singles career for him. I had won the Pilot Pen International tournament beating the top players of the world, including Pete Sampras and reached a world ranking of 73 in 1998,” added Leander.

“Going by my performance then, I should have focused on singles. Opting to play doubles with Mahesh was probably the worst decision of my playing career,” said Leander

Lee and Hesh will represent India in the doubles event of the Beijing Olympics in August. Paes, however, said: “Playing with Mahesh again will surely bring back pleasant memories and India will stand a good chance to win a medal.”

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Mr. R. MURALI
M/s. I P A N
Bangalore, India
E-Mail : r.murali@ipan.com