Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna Paired Up For Davis Cup But What About the Bad Blood Between India's Top Tennis Stars!

New Delhi, March 12:  Even after star Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna had expressed reservations about pairing up with veteran Leander Paes, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) has named Paes in the Indian squad for the Davis Cup Group I tie against China to be played in Tianjin in April. This announcement from AITA means long-term rivals Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes are most likely to be paired and fans are left wondering whether to expect the best of Indian tennis or the worst of sparks on foreign soil.

The decision by AITA to include Paes is seen by many in the tennis circles as a strong message by the tennis association that it won't allow players to dictate the selection process.  The five-member selection committee named Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sumit Nagal, Bopanna and Paes in the squad. The left-handed Divij Sharan is part of the squad as a reserve member in the side.

So why doesn't  Rohan Bopanna Want to be Paired or Play With Leander Paes?

Back in 2012 itself, the three leading players — Rohan Bopanna, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Maria — made it very public that they weren’t keen to partner Paes. This brought to light the fact that many in Indian tennis circuit were already aware of, which is Leander Peas's inability to get along with most of his partners in tennis.

The feud between Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes has been going on for some years now. Just before the 2016 Rio Olympics, Rohan Bopanna had openly expressed his reluctance to be paired with Paes and had proposed to be faired with Saket Myneni. Despite that AITA insisted and prevailed with the veteran Paes pairing with Bopanna. This decision by AITA had come under criticism as players and experts said that Rohan had the right to choose whom he plays with because he was a higher ranked player at the time.

According to a report by Deccan Chronicle, former players and officials had alleged that Paes “always put self above team” and that AITA often showed an inclination to favour Paes. The report also quoted a former India Davis Cup player, who claimed to know both Paes and Bopanna well, saying that “It is no surprise to me that Bopanna has refused to partner Paes. They never got along well. Even while playing the Davis Cup, they never had great chemistry.” Bopanna has also earlier said that he is “not comfortable playing with Paes”.

The Deccan Chronicle report quotes him saying , “I have much admiration for Leander Paes and his many achievements, but unfortunately we have not been able to put together a good combination despite our best efforts and I do not believe our style of play are either compatible or complementary."

One only hopes that the inclusion of Leander Paes in the Davis Cup Asia/ Oceania Group I tie does not affect the morale of Rohan Bopanna and that the players will be able to put aside their differences and represent the country in the best way possible.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 12, 2018 02:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).