Think again, Paes tells Bhupathi

Bhupathi’s biggest grievance had been the lack of communication from Paes’s side, but Paes today said that it was Bhupathi who had to be blamed. “Communication is a two-way road. Mahesh has not communicated with me even once directly that we should play together before the Olympics. I tried to communicate with him about the Davis Cup and Olympics, but I got no response from him. Sending an email to the AITA about me is not communication, making eyes across the room at me is not communication. I didn’t know about this email till two days ago. Mahesh should have come directly to me,” said Paes. “If I wanted, I could have told you all the thousand grievances that I have had over the years. I’m hurt as well; Mahesh isn’t the only one.”

The Indian Davis Cup captain said the proposed training camp before the Olympics would be better preparation for the Olympics than playing in tournaments together. “Both of us play on a high level on the ATP tour. The sharpness is there, and match-sharpness is what we want. We played together for eight years, and we don’t have to find out if we can play together. In the past, we have come into tournaments without having played together, and we have done very well. Even if we do take part in some tournament, and we lose first round, how much of match practice would that be? This training camp is an excellent idea.”

He added, playing the Davis Cup card: “The next Davis Cup tie will also be considered. We’ll have everybody there, Somdev, Ashutosh, and there will be matches. Nobody’s singles or doubles place is guaranteed.”

Bhupathi has stated his decision to not play with Paes in no uncertain terms, but the seriousness of his declaration does not seem to have come across to Paes and the AITA. Paes added to AITA secretary general Anil Khanna’s belief that Bhupathi will eventually come around. He refused to comment, however, on what he would do if Bhupathi didn’t change his mind.

Doha to Delhi,a quick recap

• 2006: India’s participation in the Doha Asian Games turns ugly with Paes calling Bhupathi unfit to play.

Bhupathi is persuaded to play and the Indians win gold, but the blame game continues.

•2007: Rohan Bopanna makes himself unavailable for the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan. Bhupathi had previously ruled himself out of zonal ties.

•2008:March — Bhupathi, Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj rebel against the captaincy and refuse to play the next tie — against Japan — under Paes.

•April — the rebels eventually come around, after assurances from the AITA to resolve the leadership issue, India defeat Japan 3-2 to make it to the World Group playoff.

•May — Bhupathi sends AITA an email saying he won’t play with Paes at the Olympics, wants to team up with Bopanna instead