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I have high regards for Mahesh: Paes
Leander Paes says he still has nothing but the highest regard for his former doubles partner, Mahesh Bhupathi, both as a player and an entrepreneur.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:37 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Mumbai: Leander Paes says he still has nothing but the highest regard for his former doubles partner, Mahesh Bhupathi, both as a player and an entrepreneur. Paes is in Mumbai for the Kingfisher Open and said that he was looking forward to playing with Sania Mirza at the Asian games, given their past history. Leander Paes arrived for the Kingfisher Open in Mumbai along with wife Rhea and daughter Aiyanan who is all of six months old. The event is organised by his former doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi's firm Globosport. And that, according to Leander, lends his participation a special significance. "I will always respect Mahesh as a fellow athlete and a businessman, and I'll definitely put my best foot forward but, yes, this is my way of respecting Mahesh for holding this event in India," said Leander Paes. Different partner Paes will however, be playing with a different partner - Pakistan's Aisam Qureshi. But the former Indian express pair will of course be reunited in 2008. Paes however, refused to be drawn into the continuing controversy regarding the All India Tennis Association's decision to pair him with Sania Mirza for the Mixed Doubles event at the upcoming Asian games. Bhupathi had earlier expressed his disappointment with the AITA's decision. "Definitely, Sania and I have history in our partnership as I just mentioned we got a bronze medal in the Busan Asian Games," added Paes. It will be another chance for Indian viewers to see Bhupathi and Paes face each other in the doubles event. Paes and Damm beat Bhupathi and Moodie in the Australian Open this year, but both are playing with different partners here, with Bhupathi partnering Ancic.
Topics mentioned in this article
Tennis Rafael Nadal Sania Mirza
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