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Two down, two to go

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will go all out to add the other two Grand Slam crowns, the US and Australian Opens, to their French Open and Wimbledon collection.

Mahesh Bhupathi, back home from his Wimbledon triumph, declared that Paes and he will be aiming to win the other two Grand Slam titles as well in the coming months.

Speaking to newspersons at the C G K Bhupathi Tennis Academy, which his father runs in Bangalore, Bhupathi said Paes and he had at least six more years to go at the top, and in that time they hoped to achieve the Grand Slam quadruple.

While Paes traveled to Newport, in the United States, to defend his title at the Hall of Fame tournament, an ATP World Series event, immediately after winning the Wimbledon doubles title on Sunday, Bhupathi returned home for a two-week lay-off from the circuit to attend to his hamstring injury.

Talking about their triumph at Wimbledon, Bhupathi said: "The event is the best tournament in the world for any tennis player. We were only dreaming of winning this title and our persistent hard work enabled us to achieve it.

"There can't be a better title than Wimbledon, but there are certainly more titles to be won. We had not performed well on grass before this year, but our confidence after the French Open triumph was very high and it helped us to clinch the title, which is very special to us."

Bhupathi confessed that their Wimbledon campaign this year was the toughest ever, and they had to fight back with all their might after the bad starts they had in the last three matches.

He took pains to affirm that there was no misunderstanding between Paes and him.

"It's all just rumours and was quite unnecessary. Playing doubles at the highest level is very difficult. We go through a lot emotionally, physically and mentally, but we always work for each other, picking one up when the other is down. Whatever we do on court, we do it well for each other," he said.

Bhupathi felt he is not paying proper attention to his singles play.

"I feel bad that I am ignoring it, as this is the best part of the year to play singles. But with my injury I doubt I can play anymore singles till the US Open."

He said he had aggravated the injury while playing singles at Wimbledon, where he had to go through long matches, but was confident of getting better soon.

His next tournament will be the ATP Tour event at Stuttgart.

"Before we start our campaign at the US Open, we will play three warm-up tournaments at Montreal, Cincinnati and Indianapolis respectively," he revealed.

So what does the future hold for the champion duo?

"When Sachin Tendulkar scores three centuries, none would expect anything less from him. So all I can say is because we won two big titles we are not going to give it a let-up; we are going to try our best and hopefully win the US Open.

"We are in the middle of a great relationship and would give our hundred per cent on court," he declared.

Speaking about strategy on different surfaces, Bhupathi said quick adjustments had to be made when playing at different places.

"We have to make lot more returns on clay, while a serve and volley game and consistent service returns would pay rich dividends on grass. Our coaches have been of great help to us in making these changes," he said.

Bhupathi was critical about the Tour prize-money issue and felt there was no reason for women to ask for more.

"Men play best-of-five sets, while even a women's semi-final clash is won 6-1, 6-1, like the one Davenport won at Wimbledon," he opined.

He concluded with a word of encouragement to the Indian soldiers on the Kargil front.

"It is really heartening to see what is happening there," he said. "I pray that God may bless the Indian soldiers."

UNI