The Great Indian Tennis Drama: What if Sania refuses to play with Paes after getting the wildcard?

AITA is desperate enough to threaten Mahesh Bhupathi to not partner Sania Mirza at the London Olympics, says a report in Hindustan Times, adding that sorry, but it’s not over yet.

“Paes, who remained incommunicado, can choose not to go but that seems unlikely. Err… sorry, but it’s not over yet. One hates to add more fuel to the inferno that the crybabies of Indian tennis have sparked. However, there is one crucial aspect that the federation has overlooked. Sania Mirza is no flake. That woman has redefined tennis for her gender in this nation. Her opinion has not been solicited; her priorities have not been considered. Instead, she has been used as a token of appeasement for the fuming Leander Paes,” writes Ht, adding that the compromise formula worked out by the federation still hangs in the balance.

“On one side is the sizeable heft of Paes and on the other the combined weight of Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza. Yes, Mirza. Mirza has won two Grand Slams in the company of Bhupathi. Her last Commonwealth Games outing with Paes saw the duo going down to Scotland's Colin Fleming and Jocelyn Rae. That was a major 'Oops!' moment. They had only made it as far as the quarters and the Scottish duo had a combined ranking in the vicinity of 300. She is yet to speak on her pairing. One presumes that Mirza will keep mum till the wildcard comes through and only then reveal whether she still nurses any affection for Paes.”

Meanwhile The DNA writes that it was a thriller, scripted and produced by the All India Tennis Association (AITA). The star cast was replete with the “who’s who” of Indian Tennis, revelling in their own sense of self-importance and indispensability. The turn of events on Thursday kept the country on tenterhooks. Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna were the protagonists of this drama which was about fragile egos and pseudo patriotism. In the end, it is still not clear what is India’s tennis squad for the Olympics.

Hours after announcing AITA’s decision to send two doubles teams to London, its president Anil Khanna came out one more time to reiterate that Paes and Sania Mirza would be the mixed doubles pair. The reiteration was necessitated after Vece Paes indicated that the compromise formula of pairing Leander with Vishnu Vardhan and Mahesh Bhupathi with Rohan Bopanna was not acceptable to his son. Paes Sr said Leander might choose to drop out of the Games as a mark of protest. “Sania and Leander will play the mixed doubles,” Khanna announced, adding, “Things are settled. Leander will play with Sania. That is final.” However, the final word from Leander was not coming through.