Sania-Bhupathi win doesn't raise Olympic hopes

Mahesh Bhupathi is a certified doubles legends on the international circuit. He’s won four men’s doubles Grand Slams, eight mixed doubles titles and his quick hands at the net have won him great praise from almost every quarter. He is ranked 13th in the world on the doubles circuit. Sania Mirza, on the other hand, is just beginning her doubles career. She has been playing the format for a while but recently gave up singles to concentrate on doubles completely. In a short time, she has already won two mixed doubles slams, but she still needs a wild card to make sure of a spot on the Indian Olympics team. The win at the French Open will surely help her cause, but even if she does get one, will the Mirza-Bhupathi pairing be able to do well at the Olympics? [caption id=“attachment_336650” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Will Bhupathi and Mirza be able to play the likes of Federer and Nadal? Getty Images”] [/caption] Outside of the Olympics, the sport’s biggest stars rarely play doubles or mixed doubles. But when the idea to include the mixed doubles category in London 2012 was first mooted, the IOC had said it wanted guarantees that top players in singles would be able to participate in mixed doubles. And that means that even the doubles specialists will come up against the best players in the world. To get an idea of what that means, have a look at the medallists in the tennis competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing: Gold medals were won by Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Elena Dementieva of Russia, Swiss pair Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka and America’s Venus and Serena Williams. Notice any doubles specialists there? Usually the top players don’t play the Olympics because they have a heavy schedule and want to rest as much as possible. But this time they have all set aside time for the Olympics, and you can be sure that they will bring their ‘A’ game to the court. And their ‘A’ game is downright scary. The serves and groundstrokes are big, their presence at the net is imposing and their confidence in their own abilities knows no limitations. So against the top players, how good a chance do India’s pair have? Bhupathi is 38 already and even though, he is wily, his physical limitations are apparent. Sania remains erratic and truth be told, Bhupathi carried her during the last few matches at Roland Garros. India’s chances – even though doubles is tactically, a very different game from singles – will be slim. Indeed, it will take nothing short of a miracle – a la Leander Paes at the Atlanta Games – to come back with medals. For now, though, Bhuptahi and Sania will be focusing on the grass court season. If they can keep a winning rhythm going, they will enter the Olympics in a good frame of mind and as they say, that’s half the battle won.