Leander Paes: Form has nothing to do with my axing from Davis Cup team

Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi

Leander Paes

India tennis ace Leander Paes had an I-knew-it kind of reaction yesterday when he learnt that he had been dropped by his former doubles partner and current non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi from the Davis Cup squad for the second round Asia/Oceania tie against Uzbekistan to be played in Bangalore from April 7 to 9.

At the draw ceremony in Bangalore yesterday, it was announced that Ramkumar Ramnathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran would handle singles duties, while Rohan Bopanna would pair up with Sriram Balaji for the doubles rubber over the weekend at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) courts. After Yuki Bhambri was injured, Bhupathi had initially kept Paes and Bopana in the reserves before picking the latter yesterday.

Mahesh Bhupathi

A disappointed Paes said he was well prepared for the fixture. "I have worked hard and prepared well, keeping my country and the Davis Cup in mind and that's the reason I traveled to play in Mexico, which is a high altitude venue (keeping in mind the similar conditions in Bangalore)," Paes told mid-day yesterday. A day earlier, Bhupathi too had agreed with this saying that it helps that Paes played in the South American nation that has conditions similar to Bangalore.

Later in the day, Paes told reporters: "Bangalore's altitude is 920 metres. Leon's altitude is over 1800 metres, which is double that of Bangalore."

A humiliated Paes added: "All this nonsense should stop. When it comes to playing for the country, I firmly believe in one simple phone call - you are needed, or you are not needed. As simple as that. It doesn't have to be like this."

Paes has never been dropped on form since he made his Davis Cup debut against Japan in 1990 - 27 years ago - and he felt that form was not a criteria for him being dropped this time too. "I have won a Challenger event recently, so form is certainly not a problem," added the veteran, who combined with Canada's Adil Shamasdin to lift the men's doubles trophy at the Leon Challenger Tour event in Mexico.

"While on previous occasions, rankings have been taken into consideration during selection, this time it clearly seems to be a case of personal preferences taking precedence over form. A player's good form is there for all to see," he said.

Paes however, looked forward: "The Davis Cup is something that has always been close to my heart and that will never change. I wish the boys all the best."