The whole episode involving me & Rohan was blown out of proportion: Paes

AFTER THE All India Tennis Association (AITA) named Leander Paes as the partner of Rohan Bopanna for the upcoming Rio Games, there has been plenty said and written about on how the two tennis stars would get on with each other. 

However, both players showed no signs of any disagreement or animosity when they indulged in some intense practice session on the eve of India’s Davis Cup tie against South Korea in Chandigarh. 

Both Leander and Rohan are busy with their ATP World Tour commitments and will part ways once again before they eventually pair up in Brazil in August. That said, it will be interesting to see how the duo goes in the doubles rubber on Saturday. 

Speaking about their relationship and pairing, Leander told Indianexpress, 

“We both are playing at the professional circuit. You can look at it however you want. I have won four grand slams in the last 18 months and I am in good shape too. I was doing some fitness in London. I am playing in some tournaments after this in Europe for two weeks and after that I play in World Team Championships for three days, which I have not missed in last seven years. So I guess I will have some practice before Rio. We are going to have a chat about that this week also.” 

 “It’s a chilled and relaxed relationship for us (him and Bopanna). We had some high fives and some good moments during practice and it’s fun. When it comes playing for the country, we put our best foot forward and the best team forward. Without a shadow of doubt, we are the best team out there at this point. I think Rohan has lots of respect for me. I have tremendous respect for him.” 

The 43 year old veteran also admitted that the whole episode of his pairing with Rohan for the Olympics was blown out of proportion. 

"We played a great tie at his home town Bengaluru where we came from two sets behind. That was a huge rubber. So we play well and sometimes, there is always a bit of silliness there. For me I am the senior statesman and I like to pull the team together. Maybe, I was not here but I believe there was little bit of silliness that the talk was blown out of proportion.” 

Incidentally, Leander made his Davis Cup debut at Chandigarh itself in 1990. 

Great to be back for Davis Cup duty in Chandigarh. I played my Debut Tie here in 1990. #26yearsstrong 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/UU62oHqStw

— Leander Paes (@Leander) July 12, 2016