Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi brought fresh hope to Indian tennis with the millennial century. After the dwindling of the duo of Amritraj and Krishnan, Paes and Bhupathi were the ones to add new accolades to Indian tennis.
ZEE5’s upcoming web series Break Point is all set to explore the relationship between the dynamic duo and what led to their eventual split.
Their winning streak
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi began breaking records and transformed the sport in India. No Indian tennis pair had achieved such heights in Indian Tennis in Men’s Doubles. They came to be known as the ‘Indian Express’.
The spark between Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi was illuminating. They climbed up towards Grand Slam successes in quick succession. They won 2 Grand Slam titles in 1999, the French Open and the Wimbledon. They finished as winners.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi earned a total of 25 wins in Davis Cup matches. “Lee-Hesh” also holds the longest winning streak of 24 matches. This streak continued from 1997 to 2010. In 1999, Lee-Hesh reached the finals of all the four Grand Slams that year itself. They won two of them. In the 2002 and 2006 Asian Games, the Indian Express won gold. In the 2010 Common Wealth Games, the former World No. 1 pair finished third.
The split
The relationship between Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi underwent many controversies. It went on and off and the world was quick to notice. Affirming the controversies, the pair decided to part ways. The two friends who got along perfectly well with each other so well suddenly had their egos clashing. Leander Paes blamed his coach Enrico Piperno for the split.
On the other hand, Mahesh Bhupathi claimed that their differences couldn’t be resolved. Rumor also said that there was an issue of a lady between them.
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Despite all these rumor’s and unconfirmed reports, the fans of Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes want to remember them as winners. But it would be interesting to know what came between their wonderful chemistry that is to be explored in ZEE5’s upcoming web series Break Point.