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What's the story?
Mahesh Bhupathi, the Indian tennis sensation on Saturday said his former long-time double’s partner Leander Paes is in good form and still has a year of tennis left in him. Bhupathi was told PTI about Paes, with whom he has won three Grand Slam doubles titles,
“He’s playing well still. He made the final of Bengaluru. If he continues to play well for a few more months, may be he will play for another year. I think the way he's playing he should play as long as he can."
In case you did not know
The 46-year-old Paes played his last match on home soil on Saturday at the Bengaluru Open but sadly ended up on the losing side. Paes, who has participated seven times in the Olympics and won 18 grand slam titles, plans to sign off his 30-year-old tennis career by the end of 2020.
The heart of the matter
Mahesh Bhupathi is hopeful of Leander Paes carrying forward his good form for the next year. He believes Paes still has one more year of professional tennis left in him.
What’s next?
Leander Paes is in strong contention to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. Asked whether Paes could win a seat in the in the squad for Tokyo Olympics to make his eight Olympic appearance Bhupathi said: "There are four five candidates in contention. We will have to wait and see till the cut off date (end of June)."
Bhupati also expressed his concern over the not-so-bright future of Indian tennis. He was quoted as saying, "Unfortunately, we don't have the economics. I don't think it makes sense for corporates, who are looking for gratification and Olympic glory. In other disciplines like shooting, boxing there are multiple medals which is not there in tennis. That's the reason tennis is not getting the backing," the former Davis cup captain lamented.
He further added, “We have some great juniors. But unfortunately we don't have a system and corportates' support."
Also read: Leander Paes opens up about his 'One Last Roar' slogan
