‘‘At the moment I’m still there,’’ comes the reply from Leander Paes, whose hopes of playing next week’s Australian Open — beginning Monday — looks bleak following an injury to the big toe and ankle of his left foot.Calling the injury the sort that ‘‘happens now and then’’, Paes who injured himself during the doubles quarter-finals at the Medibank International is hoping for the MRI scan on Friday to be encouraging. Speaking to The Indian Express from his hotel in Sydney, Paes talked about hope, adding ‘‘I am resting my foot, which has been put in a cast.’’ ‘‘Bad luck,’’ he says, adding that he was eagerly looking forward to the Open and pairing up with Martina Navratilova in the mixed doubles segment. ‘‘I guess that will have to wait.’’Paes, teaming up with Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia Montenegro), twisted his leg during their match against Mahesh Bhupathi/Todd Woodbridge (Australia) and had to be wheeled out of the court to the hospital. According to Leander’s father Dr Vece Paes, ‘‘Leander had religiously prepared for the Open for three weeks and was working hard with Zimonjic.’’On the injury, Paes Sr said, ‘‘Leander got his foot stuck on the surface’’, because of the rubbery nature of the surface coupled with the hot and humid conditions. Paes Sr added that ‘‘the x-ray has ruled out a fracture’’, but ‘‘the lateral ligament of the left ankle swelled up the leg and is causing problems’’.For his part, Leander just wants to says ‘‘God has his own ways of working. Let’s hope for the best,’’ before signing off.
