‘Worst decision’ remark taken out of context, says Paes

According to the website, he added: “Mahesh was never a good singles player…. He used to travel with me and I took care of him. When I used to go inside Wimbledon, Mahesh didn’t have a pass, so I used to get in and throw the pass across the fence so that he could get entry. I used to give him my food coupons and also made him stay with me.”

The timing of the statements was surprising since Paes and Bhupathi will turn up on court together against Japan on Saturday for the first time since the 2006 Asian Games at Doha.

At the end of Day One of the Davis Cup though, Paes denied any ill-feeling towards Bhupathi. “I haven’t read what has been published, but I know of the headline, and it’s amazing how what I said has been sensationalised. That is not what I meant at all. All I said was, I regret having given up singles to play doubles. How can I ever regret playing with Mahesh? It would be silly to say that. We had some great times and I will always cherish those. I have the utmost respect for him,” Paes told reporters.

“I was once No 73 in the world in singles, and had a chance to crack the top 50. In 1998, I won the Newport tournament, and I beat Pete Sampras. I definitely thought I had a chance to make it. But then I slowed down my singles career, and in 1999, Mahesh and I had a fantastic year. But it was tough to play both singles and doubles,” he added.

Paes said he has had a word with Bhupathi about this latest controversy. “I’ve spoken to Mahesh, and I told him exactly what I said. I have cleared it out with him. I was quoted out of context.”