It's on for Paes, Bhupathi again at US Open

It's on for Paes, Bhupathi again at US Open
Kadambari Murali

New Delhi, Aug 24: Happy days are here again. A full 12 months after they last played in a Grand Slam, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have come a full circle. The duo will be playing together in the US Open, this year's final Slam beginning on Monday, ending weeks of speculation on the matter.

At Wimbledon last month, Mahesh had stated that though he and Leander would team up for the Olympics, he was committed to Mark Knowles of the Bahamas for the season-ending Grand Slam. It was then expected that Leander, who skipped the Championships due to injury, would team up with sometime partner, Dutchman Jan Siemerink, at Flushing Meadows.

According to C G K Bhupathi, Mahesh's father, Mahesh had even committed to playing with one half of the Woodies, Todd Woodbridge, from after the US Open till the end of next year. The Woodies are breaking up after the Olympics as Mark Woodforde would be calling it a day.

"While Knowles has been generous in releasing Mahesh from his commitment, Woodbridge has been even more generous. He wrote Mahesh a wonderful letter, where he said it was alright if Mahesh wanted to get back with Leander and wished them good luck," Bhupathi Sr told The Indian Express.

"Tennis players are still gentlemen," he added, tongue-in-cheek.

Bhupathi Sr said things all happened very quickly. "Mahesh did intend playing with Knowles. Even two weeks ago, when I asked Mahesh about teaming up with Leander at the US Open, he said `C'mon, don't even talk about it'. Then a week ago, he suddenly called me up and said, `Dad, it's on'."

Leander's father, Dr Vece Paes, confirming that the duo would be playing together, said Leander did not really have a problem about not playing with Siemerink, as the partnership between the two was unsure following Leander's long absence from the competition due to injury. "It was more Mahesh's commitment to Knowles that would have been the problem. But it was a very nice gesture on the part of Knowles to readily agree to let Mahesh play with Leander," he said.

One year ago, the `Indian Express' was derailed in straight sets in the finals of the US Open by the Canadian-American combo of Sebastien Lareau and Alex O'Brien. It would have been their 16th Tour title and third Grand Slam win in a row. A win, or at least a decent performance after nine months of angst would do wonders for their confidence, especially in the run-up to the Olympics. There is no reason why they shouldn't do well together despite the hiatus. Indian Davis Cup captain Ramesh Krishnan had said some months ago that the duo's chances in Sydney would be good even with little practice. "The lack of practice makes little difference. They have tremendous chemistry and could actually play from memory."

If both stay fit and jog their memories to just a year ago, there is no reason why they cannot rediscover the magic.