#Tennis: Mahesh Bhupathi

Really, Mahesh Bhupathi made our Tiranga proud in Grand Slam. Mahesh Bhupathi is best known as one of the top doubles players in the 1990s and 2000s. In 1999, Bhupathi won three doubles titles with Leander Paes, including French Open and Wimbledon. He and Leander became the first doubles team to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams, the first time such a feat has been achieved in the open era and the first time since 1952. On 26 April of that year, they became the world no. 1 doubles team.

In 2006, Bhupathi teamed with Martina Hingis in the Australian Open mixed doubles competition.
Entering the tournament unseeded and as wildcards, the first-time pair defeated four seeded opponents along the way, while only dropping a single set throughout. Bhupathi and Hingis defeated the sixth-seeded team of Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in straight sets, 6– 3, 6–3, to capture the championship. It was the sixth mixed doubles Grand Slam for Bhupathi. By winning the Australian Open, Bhupathi completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.

After Wimbledon, Bhupathi teamed with Pavel Vízner to win the 2007 Canada Masters, defeating the top-ranked doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan en route. After this victory, he won a tournament in New Haven with Nenad Zimonjić. At the 2007 US Open, he and Zimonjic paired in doubles. Bhupathi has donned Indian colours numerous times for the Davis Cup as well as other international tournaments, including the Asian Games. Bhupathi has played 46 matches for India in the Davis Cup (from 1995 to 2006), winning 28. In 2006, Bhupathi won the doubles championship with Leander Paes at the Asian Games in Doha.

In 2001, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian awards. Bhupathi is an alumnus of the University of Mississippi in the United States. Bhupathi has also been involved in developing tennis facilities in India and, along with his company Globosport, has played a key role in developing and managing the careers of many Indian athletes, including Sania Mirza.