I have offers for next year, I can’t afford to wait too long — Bhupathi

“Yet,” he continued, “It never occurred to me that we would break up, despite the lack of communication.”

According to Bhupathi, there was never any conversation with Paes about not playing together when he came back from a five-month injury lay off. He said he had expected to come back with Paes till a couple of weeks before Orlando, which was to be their comeback event together. “When he was at the Lipton championships, I spoke to Bob (Carmichael, Paes’ coach), and he had Lee call me. We decided to play together at Orlando, Rome, the French Open. Then three days later, he called me and said he wouldn’t play with me if Rico (Enric Piperno) was still my coach.”

“I felt let down in the circumstances, after a great year together. More as a partner than as a friend, but I felt let down.” For Bhupathi, not playing with Paes after five months of frustration “hurt terribly. I was shocked, then put off to the point of disgust.”

“Those five months were tough, watching other guys play on TV, the Grand Slams and other tourneys. I was upset when I first discovered how bad the shoulder was, just a week prior to surgery in November. It happened at a point when we were playing really well and had had a great year, making all four Grand Slam finals. I was nervous as I had never had major surgery before and the five months just stretched out ahead.”

“And then, they had also told me that in all probability, the strength in the shoulder would never be the same again. The only good part was that the doctors did not ever tell me the injury would finish my sporting career forever. I was always going to come back.”

Bhupathi says if he had a choice of people to play with, Paes would be his first choice and says if they do get together as a wild card for the World Doubles Championships, he would not mind playing. “I want to play, you’ll have to ask him what he thinks.”

“I will not make the first move. I’ve made all the moves and over the last three months, I’ve just been at it. There’s a limit to how much I will try. I must now concentrate on my tennis and my career,” said Bhupathi, who gives himself at least five years more on the Tour.

On being asked whether he knew that Paes had said in an interview on TV that they were not getting back because of Piperno on three counts — badmouthing Paes himself to Bhupathi, badmouthing Carmichael, and badmouthing his sponsors — Bhupathi replied in the affirmative. “I know what Leander had said, but Rico is not the reason. He has never badmouthed Lee to me. Nobody has to, I know Leander better than anyone else. Then, after hearing the interview, Bob called Rico and asked him if there was anything wrong. They are good friends. In fact, during the French Open in Paris, Bob and Rico sat together for hours trying to get us together. I also asked Leander what sponsors he was talking about and he wouldn’t give me an answer.”

Asked if the duo realised they had willingly given up a chance at history and everything they had worked for, Bhupathi said: “We already created a little bit of history last year by reaching four Slam finals. In any case, I always thought that (moments of triumph) were blown out of proportion. I don’t think we would ever had emulated the Woodies (Australians Tood Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde), won 60 Tour titles, even if we had stayed together. We rose to the occasion and performed well at the Grand Slams, but at the smaller tournaments, we just weren’t getting the results we should have got.

“We did let go off a lot both financially and in playing for the country,” he added. “But tennis is an individual sport. Till I came along, Leander was playing with different partners for about five years. Now, we will both just play with separate partners.”

And what of their chances at the Olympics? Both have stated in the past that they dream of Olympic glory and they are undoubtedly India’s most realistic chance at an Olympic medal. Davis Cup captain Ramesh Krishnan has stated in the past: “Mahesh and Leander stood a good chance at Sydney even playing from memory,” but Bhupathi isn’t too sure. “We’re giving ourselves the least possible chance — not playing together, the injuries, and the plummeting rankings will probably result in our not being seeded. If we don’t meet any big seeds in the first couple of matches, get some practice together, we might be okay. We should not, for instance, meet the Woodies in the first round.”

Bhupathi has also said though playing the Davis Cup together in the future would not be the same. “In the interests of the team and the others, we’ll have to try our best.”

So is there ever a chance of the friendship coming back if they do get back together? “I don’t know if the friendship is over. If I had to ask Leander for a favour, even now, I would still do it. We’re never going to be great friends though. Lee mentioned to me that he wanted the friendship to be there and wanted our coach and trainer to be the same. But I have my life and we are two professionals, things cannot be that way,” added Bhupathi.

“I will think about it if there are no strings attached. But I cannot wait too long. I have offers for next year and if I don’t make a decision fast and commit to someone, then there wont be anyone left.”

The two have played with other partners this year, and neither hae played like they do when with each other. So what made them click, what was that much-talked about chemistry about? “Our games complimented each other, we both worked under pressure,” saId Bhupathi.

“Maybe if I play with someone else long, that chemistry would be there with them too. But the thing with Lee and I as a pair was that we came up to ether. We learnt to lose and then we learnt to win together. That made all the difference.”