Mahesh Bhupathi
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Mahesh Bhupathi , ಮಹೇಶ್ ಭೂಪತಿ , మహేష్ భూపతి , மகேஷ் பூபதி |
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Nickname(s) | Hesh | |
Country | India | |
Residence | Bengaluru | |
Date of birth | June 7, 1974 | |
Place of birth | Chennai | |
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |
Weight | 89 kg (200 lb/14.0 st) | |
Turned pro | 1995 | |
Plays | Right-handed; two-handed backhand | |
Career prize money | $4,350,473 | |
Singles | ||
Career record: | 10-28 | |
Career titles: | 0 | |
Highest ranking: | 217 (February 2, 1998) | |
Grand Slam results | ||
Australian Open | - | |
French Open | - | |
Wimbledon | 1RD (1997, 1998, 2000) | |
US Open | 1RD (1995) | |
Doubles | ||
Career record: | 510 - 249 | |
Career titles: | 43 | |
Highest ranking: | 1 (April 26, 1999) | |
Grand Slam doubles results | ||
Australian Open | F (1999) | |
French Open | W (1999, 2001) | |
Wimbledon | W (1999) | |
US Open | W (2002) | |
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (Kannada : ಮಹೇಶ್ ಭೂಪತಿ) (Telugu : మహేష్ శ్రీనివస భూపతి) (Tamil : மகேஷ் பூபதி) (born June 7, 1974, Chennai, India) is a professional tennis player . He is married to Shvetha Jaishankar Bhupathi, an Indian model whom he met at a party . He turned professional in 1995, and in 2001, he was awarded the Padma Shri. He currently resides in Bangalore and is among the best doubles tennis players in the world with 10 grand slam titles to his credit including mixed doubles. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament (with Rika Hiraki[1] in Mixed Doubles).
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[edit] Career
In 1999, Bhupathi won three doubles titles with Leander Paes including Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He and Leander became the first doubles team to reach 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 April 26 that year, they became the World No. 1 doubles team. Bhupathi also won the US Open mixed doubles with Ai Sugiyama of Japan.
In 2006, Bhupathi teamed with Martina Hingis in the mixed doubles competition. Entering the tournament unseeded and as wildcards[2], 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, and a first for Hingis. By winning Australian Open, Bhupathi completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.
In 2007, Bhupathi and Czech Radek Štěpánek reached the 2007 Australian Open men's doubles event's quarterfinals. He teamed with Štěpánek at the 2007 French Open to make the doubles semifinals, defeating dual-year defending champions Jonas Björkman and Max Mirnyi in the quarterfinals. The team lost to the eventual champions Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. After Wimbledon Bhupathi teamed along 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 U.S. Open, he and Zimonjić paired in doubles. After the U.S. Open, the team that beat Bhupathi and Štěpánek in the French Open semifinals, Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor, split. Bhupathi was to become the new partner of Mark Knowles[3] while Zimonjić will partner Nestor, but back surgery means he is now expected to be out until the end of the year[4].
[edit] Grand Slam titles
[edit] Men's Doubles
Year | Championship | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score/Final |
1999 | French Open | Leander Paes | Goran Ivanišević Jeff Tarango |
6–2, 7–5 |
1999 | Wimbledon | Leander Paes | Paul Haarhuis Jared Palmer |
6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6 |
2001 | French Open (2) | Leander Paes | Petr Pála Pavel Vízner |
7–6, 6–3 |
2002 | U.S. Open | Max Mirnyi | Jiří Novák Radek Štěpánek |
6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
[edit] Mixed Doubles
Year | Championship | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score/Final |
1997 | French Open | Rika Hiraki | Patrick Galbraith Lisa Raymond |
6–4, 6–1 |
1999 | U.S. Open | Ai Sugiyama | Donald Johnson Kimberly Po |
6–4, 6–4 |
2002 | Wimbledon | Elena Likhovtseva | Daniela Hantuchová Kevin Ullyett |
6–2, 7–5 |
2005 | Wimbledon (2) | Mary Pierce | Paul Hanley Tatiana Perebiynis |
6–4, 6–2 |
2005 | U.S. Open (2) | Daniela Hantuchová | Katarina Srebotnik Nenad Zimonjić |
6–4, 6–2 |
2006 | Australian Open | Martina Hingis | Elena Likhovtseva Daniel Nestor |
6–3, 6–3 |
[edit] Titles (43)
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[edit] Runner-ups (29)
[edit] Doubles performance timeline
Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | Career SR |
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Grand Slams | |||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | SF | F | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | QF | 3R | QF | SF | 0 / 11 |
French Open | A | A | 2R | SF | W | 2R | W | SF | QF | SF | 1R | QF | SF | 1R | 2 / 12 |
Wimbledon | LQ | LQ | 1R | 2R | W | 3R | 1R | QF | F | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1 / 11 |
U.S. Open | 2R | LQ | SF | SF | F | 1R | 1R | W | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1 / 13 |
Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 2 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 4 / 47 |
Year-End Championship | |||||||||||||||
Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | F | RR | F | F | RR | NH | RR | RR | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | |
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | NH | 2R | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | SF | Not Held | QF | 0 / 4 | ||||||
ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | SF | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | 0 / 9 |
Miami Masters | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | A | QF | 1R | 2R | QF | A | 1R | F | 0 / 9 |
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | SF | 2R | A | SF | 1R | W | QF | QF | SF | 2R | F | 1 / 10 |
Rome Masters | A | A | A | W | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | SF | W | SF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2 / 11 |
Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | QF | 2R | 2R | 1R | W | F | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1 / 11 |
Canada Masters | A | A | W | SF | A | QF | 1R | 2R | W | W | QF | A | W | QF | 4 / 10 |
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | QF | 1R | 2R | 1R | W | F | SF | QF | QF | 2R | 2R | SF | 1 / 12 |
Madrid Masters | A | A | QF | F | A | 2R | QF | F | W | SF | QF | 1R | A | 1 / 9 | |
Paris Masters | A | A | 1R | W | 2R | 1R | F | 2R | A | SF | A | A | A | 1 / 7 | |
Masters Series SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 5 | 2 / 8 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 6 | 1 / 8 | 1 / 9 | 3 / 8 | 2 / 9 | 0 / 8 | 0 / 6 | 1 / 7 | 0 / 7 | 11 / 88 |
Tournament Wins | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
Year End Ranking | 162 | 106 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 30 | 21 | N/A |
A = did not attend tournament.
NH = tournament not held.
LQ = lost in the qualifying draw.
[edit] Davis Cup and Asian Games
Mahesh Bhupathi has donned Indian colors numerous times for the Davis Cup as well as other international fixtures including Asian Games.
Mahesh Bhupathi has played 46 matches for India in the Davis Cup (from 1995 to 2006), winning 28 and losing 18. Out of the 28 matches that he won, 20 of his victories came in doubles matches.
In 2006, Bhupathi won the doubles championship with Leander Paes at the Asian Games in Doha.
[edit] Relationship with Leander Paes
From the pinnacle of 1999 to depths of 2006, the relationship between two top Indian players, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi has fluctuated, turning from great to bad to worse. The two forged a formidable partnership in the late 90s and steeply climbed the ladder of the doubles rankings. They played so well as a team such that it prompted the then top Australian doubles pair of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge (known as the Woodies) to tell that they expected Bhupathi and Paes to take their place tennis doubles after they leave the scene. Together with Paes, Bhupathi featured in several memorable grand slam matches, Olympic matches as well as Davis Cup matches for India. Their pairing was so strong and reliable that it was normally a scoreline of 1-0 in any Davis cup clash even before the first single was played, meaning that the doubles match on the second day will be in India's favour. From such a high, the relationship between the pair gradually deteriorated and reached a point of no communication. The exact cause or causes for the rift has never been known so far though various factors like ego clashes, garnering more attention than the other have been rumoured over the years. Just after winning the 2006 Asian games, both of the players announced that they will never play again together. In spite of the cold relationship between them, they decided to play together in the Beijing 2008 Olympics for a possible medal chance in the doubles event. Bhupathi had initially shot a letter to the AITA stating that he did not want to play with Paes in the Olympic games preferring Bopanna instead as his partner.
Bhupathi had said, "Leander and I are best option for India but we need to go with some kind of preparation. We need to build a team. It's not about past performances. Rohan Bopanna and I are better prepared as a team," The AITA responded by saying that it will not change the doubles team pairing and that it was up to Paes and Bhupathi to ensure that the differences between them did not come in the way of national glory. (Reuters) However, Bhupathi and Paes decided to once again form a doubles pair, and entered the 2008 Ordina Open together to attain the second seed. They finished as Runners up in their comeback tournament. They partnered in the men's doubles event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but lost in the quarter finals [5] to Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who went on to win the men's doubles gold medal [6].
[edit] Sports Management
Mahesh Bhupathi has also been involved in developing tennis facilities in India and along with his company Globosport he has played in a key role in developing and managing the careers of many Indian athletes including the new Indian tennis star, Sania Mirza[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Hiraki was the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam tournament, while Bhupathi was the first Indian of any kind to win a Grand Slam.
- ^ Source: [1]
- ^ Team profile
- ^ Bhupathi to undergo back surgery
- ^ 2008 Ordina Open Men's Doubles Draw
- ^ "Federer leads Swiss to doubles gold".
- ^ Sania Mirza signs up with Globosport - Times of India article dtd 14 May 2003 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/46367823.cms
[edit] External links
- Mahesh Bhupathi at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Mahesh Bhupathi Fan Site
- Davis Cup Player page
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