Our champions are flawed genius, we need to respect their pride

When Mahesh Bhupathi won the National men’s title on grass in Chandigarh in 1994, the first question one fielded on return to the Capital was whether the young champion could beat Leander Paes !

More than two decades later, the question continues to persist, ‘’Can Mahesh beat Leander’’.

To put the record straight, Mahesh has not beaten Leander in singles in the professional circuit. He has beaten him otherwise. Leander beat him thrice in singles, and two of them were in Challenger finals.

The only time Mahesh did get past Leander in a professional draw, was when he got a walkover from the top seed in the semifinals of the Jakarta Challenger in 1994. Mahesh as a qualifier went on to win the title, his only Challenger singles title.

This was immediately after Mahesh had got into the Davis Cup team for the tie against South Africa in Jaipur, even though he was not played then. He had done well in two Satellite circuits in Malaysia and Indonesia to gain the attention of the national selectors.

Despite the fact that he had won the Challenger and made the doubles final with Leander, Mahesh made it a point to play the National championship to assert his stature and standard.

Lest the young readers jump into any conclusion, one hastens to stress that Mahesh was a superb singles player as he showed many times in the Grand Slams, ATP events and Davis Cup.

However, as CGK Bhupathi said the day after Mahesh had won the national singles title in 1994, he was tipped to be a top-10 doubles player. It was some conviction of the dad of a 20-year-old Mahesh to say that he would question his knowledge as a coach if his son did not become a top-10 doubles player.

For sure, Mahesh had a big serve, a huge backhand and a menacing forehand. But, Leander had the legs and the tenacity to outwit him. And the ability to charm the media! This was one difficult part to digest. 

It is another matter that the problem persists despite the media for the majority being disillusioned with Leander and his perennial plea for justice.

Mahesh’s partnership with Leander, the contrasting style of play of the two along with their intrinsic understanding, made them a world class pair, the best in the world, who could take on the Woodies, Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge apart from the Dutchmen, Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis.

Mahesh did not drop serve in tournaments, at times week after week, because Leander was at the net. It was a lethal combination.

Over the years, Mahesh had always looked up to Leander, even though the latter would tease him endlessly, especially through the media interactions, questioning his fitness time and again. And possibly the lack of gratitude for getting his international career launched in such style, without much investment!

It was nearly impossible to tackle the guile of Leander. Mahesh, who speaks his heart straight, had exploded at times, unable to sustain his silence, like when he said that he had played his last match with Leander after winning the doubles gold in the turbulent Doha Asian Games in 2006. For sure, the two played together thereafter in the Beijing Olympics and on the circuit as well, not to forget Davis Cup.

Even as he got the best out of his partners on court, Leander got their bad side out, off the court, leading to considerable friction. It had something to do with Leander’s personality. He was the king of everything he surveyed. Without that attitude, he could not have won that Atlanta Olympics singles bronze medal in 1996.

However, it was not just Mahesh but a bunch of players who were unable to digest the methods of Leander over the years, but could never pin him down. Thus, it was only natural that Mahesh was viewed as the leader who can win them justice, at some stage.

Hence, it was no surprise that Mahesh was convinced to play Rohan Bopanna in the tie against the Uzbeks in Bengaluru. For sure, he had not made up his mind to insult Leander, as many would like us to believe.

As the new captain, who did not have two best singles players Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni in the team, Mahesh was understandably reluctant to drop his best doubles player, his trusted partner with whom he had competed in the London Olympics. There was no question of Mahesh saying ‘’No’’ to Leander from flying into Bengaluru from Mexico, for he was still toying with the choice.

It was a tricky situation, and as the captain Mahesh was a bit jittery, trying to rely on Ramkumar Ramanathan and the inexperienced Prajnesh Gunneswaran for singles, even though Uzbekistan without Denis Istomin was like a snake without venom.

It was equally understandable that Leander exploded to the media, unable to hide his anguish. Being the aggrieved, not so much experienced at that, Leander deserved to express himself, and question Mahesh. It is difficult for the captain to extend the gag order to a reserve player, and someone of the stature of Leander.

To expect Leander to stay for the whole tie was unreasonable, and to say that it was ‘’the last nail in the coffin’’ was another expression of Mahesh that would haunt him.

Mahesh as the captain had every right to choose his team and he had made it clear at every stage, and had been very polite and considerate to Leander. He did not have to prove it to the world, by releasing the text messages.

But, if you have a young captain who had played the circuit only last year, you do not expect the maturity of a Naresh Kumar or a Ramesh Krishnan.

The good thing is that Leander has been stung badly. As a player he is quite content with what he has achieved with his limited game! He has played in seven successive Olympics that no tennis player has ever done. It is also the highest by an Indian sportsman. His Davis Cup record is imposing. In fact, for all the talks that he is playing for the record, Leander does have the record for the highest number of doubles wins in Davis Cup.

For one having shared so many records with Mahesh, with whom he has such a strong love, hate relationship, Leander does not mind sharing a record with Nicola Pietrangeli of Italy, who incidentally has the singles record as well for maximum number of wins in Davis Cup.

In such a back drop, one should admire the hunger of Leander to compete in the small Challengers to stay alive in the circuit, even though it means considerable loss of money. He has to endure so much after being used to the big league for so long. But, the last thing a champion like Leander would want is anyone’s sympathy.

Without their pride, the champions are nothing. It is something we often forget.

For all his services, and the way he has been getting the results, Leander feels that he deserves to walk into the team as a matter of right. It is unfair to remind someone of the numbers in the ranking game, for, all his life Leander has been defying the numbers.

As a knowledgeable friend pointed out the other day, Leander possibly got it wrong when he called Vishnu Vardhan on the eve of the draw for the tie against New Zealand in Pune, when Saketh Myneni pulled out. He would have got that elusive doubles win in the company of Yuki Bhambri. The Kiwis were no team, even though they had a good doubles combination.

The Uzbeks, in comparison, were tough in singles, at least on paper.

For all the bitter words that have been spoken over time, it will be a miracle if Leander and Bopanna pair up for any match.

Yet, the best of human calculations can go wrong when time plays its cards!

Even as Bopanna has consolidated his position, by winning the ATP Masters title in Monte Carlo, Leander is fighting hard in the Challengers, winning two of them in Leon and Tallahassee. There are still three more Grand Slams, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, before India plays its World Group play-off Davis Cup tie against Canada in Canada.

If any of us is busy writing the last lines for the brilliant career of Leander Paes, we will be exposing our ignorance about the superman of Indian sports.

In a long conversation in Rio de Janeiro, after the early exit in doubles in the Olympics, Leander agreed to one point with a twinkle in his eye. It was a simple observation.

All our champions have flaws. If you remove the flaws, the whole structure could collapse. The flaws make them, as much as their better qualities !

We are all human and none of us is perfect. As successful people, the champions naturally believe that their perception is absolute right.

As fans who enjoy all their achievements and feel proud about them, we need to educate ourselves to accept the flaws in our champions, be it Mahesh or Leander.

It is impolite to ask them to behave !

The much maligned Mahesh Bhupathi spoils his image further on captaincy debut

For most of us, Mahesh Bhupathi may be the villain, donning the captain’s hat, and putting an end to the career of Leander Paes, at least in Davis Cup.

For some of us, Mahesh Bhupathi is a captain with a vision, who will ensure that the brilliant career of Leander Paes has a bright and worthy finish.

Against a weak Uzbekistan team, struggling without its spearhead Denis Istomin, it would have been the easiest thing to field Paes, with or without Rohan Bopanna, and ensure that the champion gets the record for maximum doubles wins of 43 in Davis Cup.

For all the inspiration that he manages to eke out from nowhere, and the enthusiasm that has seen him compete in seven straight Olympics, the 43-year-old Paes may have been tempted to say goodbye to the Davis Cup theatre.

There was nothing much left to prove for him, or so most of us had thought.

To fly from Mexico across the globe to Bengaluru, despite being named only as a reserve, Paes had done everything within his reach to be eligible for inclusion in the tie. Even though the knowledgeable CGK Bhupathi chose to term a $75,000 Challenger as a ‘’two bit’’ event, and chose to dismiss Paes winning it, as some sort of bad preparation, merely because of the anguish at the attack launched against his son, it was clear that Paes had stretched himself quite a bit to be ready.

All the arguments of Paes are absolutely fair, when he cried foul on not being nominated in the four-member team for the tie. They are almost on similar lines to the argument that Bopanna put forth, when he was dropped for the tie against New Zealand.

However, Paes had agreed that the captain had the prerogative to choose his team. He wanted a phone call, intimating him that he was not wanted.

That was not possible. It would have been suicidal to say ‘’no’’ to a reserve player, especially after what had happened in the previous tie against New Zealand in Pune. Vishnu Vardhan had to fly from Hyderabad on the morning of the draw, and understandably was not as sharp as he could have been, as he and Paes, the London Olympics partners, lost in four sets.

So, there was no question of telling Paes that he was not wanted in advance. But the fact remained that Mahesh never kept Paes in his four-member team. He would have kept him out of the six member squad had the national selectors and the All India Tennis Association (AITA) listened to his line of thought.

Mahesh firmly believes in the ‘’horses for courses’’ policy. He chose Bengaluru because it would suit the big servers and the fast court would suit the stroke players. It was impossible to keep Bopanna out in such a scenario.

The idea was not to get rid of Paes, by helping him to the record, but to ensure that he plays his part when required. No captain would have been able to convince someone like Paes, with such a rich Davis Cup record, to sit out. It was no wonder that Mahesh failed, even though there is no doubt that he is the biggest fan of Paes.

If we brush up our memory, not long ago, Mahesh had kept Paes in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), his personal baby. So, where is the question of not wanting Paes in the Davis Cup squad.

To be fair to him, Mahesh also wants to break the mould, and create a new structure for Indian team. There has been enough of doubles. Let us not forget that Paes himself was so heroic in so many singles matches, against some of the best players in the world, rather than doubles, in the Davis Cup theatre.

Had Yuki Bhambri been fit and playing, Mahesh could have even kept his friend Bopanna out, to try and make the singles specialists ready for hard battle. For sure, Mahesh does not require Davis Cup to prove anything to Bopanna, or settle scores against Paes. The much maligned Mahesh certainly has some vision for Indian tennis.

In fact, Mahesh did have a chat with Paes in Dubai during the ATP event recently and had expressed that it was a privilege to captain a team with him. In the same breath, Mahesh had also made it clear that nobody was guaranteed a place.

The only request from Paes was that he should not be kept in the squad, if he was not being played. It was a gentleman’s promise, but it was not in Mahesh’s hands to keep Paes out of the squad for the tie against Uzbekistan !

Obviously, Paes needs a high quality partner, whom he could trust, to bring his best game out. With due respect to all the players, not many in Indian tennis can inspire that. Saketh Myneni and Paes played a brilliant match against the Olympic champions Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez in Delhi last September in the World Group play-off, but fell short at the crunch.

Paes and Bopanna had fared miserably against the Czech in the Capital two years ago, after the same pair had bounced back from being down two sets and a break, to beat the Serbs in Bengaluru, in 2014. Paes and Bopanna had won against easy meat, the Koreans, on grass in Chandigarh last year before all the bitterness came to the top in the run-up to the Rio Olympics and the climax in Brazil, when Paes and Bopanna crashed out in the first round.

Ever since Bopanna announced that he could not strike a winning partnership with Paes, and wanted to play with Saketh instead, at the Rio Olympics, by virtue of being a top-10 player with the right to choose his partner, Paes must have been convinced that there was a group in operation to keep him out.

In such a back drop, Paes was literally challenging everyone to drop him. In the process, he walked into a punch that shook his senses.

‘’Sometimes, you have to take things on the chin, throw your shoulders back and keep working hard’’, Paes had said.

The complaint and moaning apart, his positive mind set, after being dropped, clearly indicate that we still have a lot to see of Paes. So, let nobody be in any hurry to write the end game for him.

He may not like to read these lines, but this was the bitter tonic that Paes needed to fire himself up, on possibly the final stretch of his professional tennis career. Champions are best known when they face adversity. In his distinguished career, Paes has jumped over many hurdles to establish his ability to go, far beyond his limitations.

No matter how much people criticise Paes for not being diligent with his training schedules, or find fault, even if it is rain that stops training after three games, there is no doubt that whenever he wants, Paes can put the flesh and spirit in sync, dancing to his tune. He is still the quickest at the net on planet earth. If he gets the right partner, Paes can win Grand Slam doubles, not just mixed doubles with Martina Hingis, the incomparable Swiss miss.

All he needs is the motivation. Mahesh Bhupathi and the tricky situation has given him plenty of it!

It is unfair to call someone a villain, when he brings out the best in a champion like Paes.

For all the sickness that people feel on looking at Indian tennis, they just need to detach themselves and look at the big picture.

For sure, it is getting better. For all his 27 years and many years of tennis around the world, few knew Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the left-hander from Chennai, who fired the bombs on the opening day of Davis Cup against the Uzbeks and hit with such a flourish and intensity.

The players may be the same, but Indian tennis is a kaleidoscope, ready to project many fascinating and colourful pictures.

Fortunately or unfortunately, nothing will be in black and white !