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This whiz kid of Indian
tennis is very much a part and parcel of Bangalore's ethos and culture. Pairing with the
other Indian ace Leander Paes, Mahesh achieved what no other Indian sports person has done
in her or his sporting career. Mahesh and Leander entered the finals of all the four Grand
Slam events - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon Open and the US Open - in 1999. They
won the French and US Open, but went down with their guns blazing in the other two events.
Though, they did not make much head way in the year ending World Doubles Championships,
they had a sense of achievement when they got the better off the indomitable Aussie pair
of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, who are nicknamed as the 'Woodies'. Encouraged by
his father, Mr. C.G. Krishna Bhupathi, who runs The Tennis Village at Bangalore, Mahesh
proved that hard work pays or rather 'Paes'. |
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Sacrificing the thrills and joys of a normal child hood, which included
avoiding birthday parties, Mahesh turned out to be the ideal foil to Leander in their
doubles quest. Their party, in fact, began at the 1997 ATP Gold Flake Open tennis
tournament at Chennai, which was their first major doubles victory. They made it a
hat-trick of triumphs by winning the Gold Flake open titles during 1998 and 1999. Mahesh,
however, is presently out of action as he is recuperating from an operation on the right
shoulder. Mahesh, who under went the operation at New York in November, is now undergoing
rehabilitation in the US and hopes to be match fit by May, on time to defend the French
Open doubles title with Leander Paes.
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