Leander Paes’ partner woes

Leander Paes might have been named to the Rio Olympics team formally on Saturday, but team mates Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza had made it clear well in advance that they were “not interested” in pairing up with him. Indian tennis thus finds itself entangled in another fiasco, like it was ahead of the London Olympics four years ago. Paes is one of India’s most successful tennis players but his rapport with team mates has always been a grey area. Be it his relationship with “most successful” partner Mahesh Bhupathi, Bopanna or Sania, there has always been a whiff of unease around his ability to get along with others.

It all began as a fall-out between the Big Two of Indian doubles during the 2006 Doha

Asian Games for reasons unknown. The Indian camp was divided in two. Bhupathi had the backing of Bopanna as well as Sania — who was supported by Bhupathi-owned Globosports when she was 15 years old — while Paes was a “favourite” of the All India Tennis Association.

With Bopanna not naming Paes as his partner now, old differences have resurfaced. In 2012, three players — Bopanna, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania — weren’t keen to partner with Paes. Bopanna and Bhupathi linked up in the men’s competition and Paes’ consolation in London was that Sania was “forced” to partner him in the mixed doubles.

Earlier too, officials and former players alleged that Paes possessed a “selfish” nature and the inclination of the AITA towards Paes irked many.

A former India Davis Cupper, who knows both Paes and Bopanna well, says, “It is no surprise to me that Bopanna has refused to partner Paes. It is not just today — they have shared cold vibes for years. They never got along well. Even while playing the Davis Cup, they never had great chemistry. The gelling was not there.”

Paes will make a record seventh Olympic appearance and has told the world that he and

Sania have a “good chance” at Rio as he is the country’s most successful mixed doubles specialist while Bopanna had no such record. Incidentally, Paes and Martina Hingis teamed up at Roland Garros this year to help complete the veteran’s career Grand Slam.

The Davis Cupper adds, “Leander never invested in youngsters and the AITA did not do anything to improve relations between the players and him. Obviously, he is not the most loved guy out there on the court.”

It has also been learnt that during an event in New Delhi recently, Paes and Sania avoided eye contact. Onlookers claimed that there was no exchange of pleasantries either. Bopanna had written to the AITA, seeking Saketh Myneni as his preferred doubles partner for Rio over Paes while Sania had also told AITA that she would prefer to play mixed doubles with Bopanna. Though AITA has not countered Sania on her choice, it rejected Bopanna’s choice of Myneni on Saturday.

The discomfort between Paes and the rest is no secret any more and even Bopanna says that he is “not comfortable playing with Paes.”

“I have much admiration for Leander Paes and his many achievements but unfortunately, we have not been able to put together a good combination despite our best efforts and I do not believe our styles of playing are either compatible or complementary,” he says.