Short on match practice, yet favourites at the French Open?

Paris holds a certain romantic charm for Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. It was on the slow red clay here that the star Indian doubles pairing won their maiden Grand Slam title twelve years ago. They triumphed again in 2001, which was to be their last hurrah as a team. A decade later as the Indian Express rolls on to the Parisian clay, sentiments are bound to run high. Unfortunately for the world’s second-best team, their preparation for the French Open hasn’t been ideal. Rome was the lone warm-up event Lee-Hesh competed in and an early loss at the hands of the American combine of Sam Querrey and John Isner means the Indians now go into the showcase event, beginning Sunday, without any  practice on clay. [caption id=“attachment_12577” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi says his actor wife Lara Dutta hadn’t watched a tennis match live before they met. AFP “]  [/caption] Agreed, Bhupathi and Paes have been around for many years. Agreed they have played enough tennis together on all surfaces, but match practice does count for something. A couple of good wins ahead of a showpiece event can surely get the confidence soaring. Why else would the world’s top players, including clay king Rafael Nadal, insist on playing all the warm-up tournaments leading up to Paris year after year? Bhupathi, who’s uniting with Paes after a long gap of nine years, also admitted that they “would’ve preferred some more matches on clay.” Speaking to Firstpost, the 36-year-old Bangalorean said: “A couple of matches on clay would’ve been nice, but then we got a tough draw at Rome. We lost to the eventual champions.” The doubles ace also added that playing only Rome (as against a full warm-up season) was a “well-thought” of decision. “We can’t really peak throughout the season. So we’re just making sure we peak at the right time. The schedule Leander and I made will hopefully allow us to peak at the right time, in Paris,” he argued. Interestingly, Bhupathi also defended the duo’s decision to fly to Mumbai for a week after the early loss at Rome instead of heading straight to Paris to make up for the lack of practice on the slow and demanding surface. “Nobody besides Leander and me know what works best for us. We felt training together for a week at home would be good enough before the Grand Slam, so we decided to train here,” said Bhupathi, who has decided to team up with Paes for the remaining season. “We’re training very hard and we feel we’re in good shape. I think if we play well, we are the favourites for the title,” added Bhupathi. Meanwhile, talking about the hot contenders for the singles titles, Bhupathi picked Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki. What about Novak Djokovic, who’s had a dream run this season? “It’s very hard to bet against Nadal at the French Open,” said Bhupathi, adding: “But then it’s very hard to bet against Djokovic right now given the way he’s playing. They are the favourites to make the final. However, once it gets there, in a best of five-set match, I’d pick Rafa over Djokovic.” Is he then ruling Roger Federer out as a contender? “At the French Open, yes,” said Bhupathi, himself a huge fan of the Swiss. [caption id=“attachment_12580” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mahesh Bhupathi feels that Somdev Devvarman can go into the second week of the French Open if the draw is favourable. Danny Moloshok / Reuters”]  [/caption] Speaking about the Indians in fray at the Open, the senior pro heaped praise on the country’s top singles player Somdev Devvarman. “He’s had a breakthrough year. He’s ranked 66 in the world now. And he should be excited about being in the main draw at both Paris and Wimbledon. The number of top-25 wins he’s had this year should give him confidence. And if he gets lucky with the draw, he might even make it to the second week,” said Bhupathi. How things pan out for Bhupathi on the court over the next fortnight remains to be seen, but off it the player-turned-film producer is enjoying the success of his film ‘Chalo Dilli,’ starring wife Lara Dutta. “It’s been a good experience. The film has been a good success and three weeks later the buzz is still there. Not many  films that released in the same week as ours are still running at the box office. I’m excited with the way we’ve launched our production house,” said Bhupathi of his Bollywood stint. And does Lara follow the game now? “She does, whenever I play,” pat comes the reply. “Before I met her, she had never watched a tennis match live,” he said.