'An opportunity to prepare for Australian Open'

January 09, 2010 01:50 am | Updated 03:04 am IST - Chennai

Mahesh Bhupathi

Mahesh Bhupathi

The structuring of the doubles draw will see the remnants of Indian interest in the tournament head towards a potential clash in the final.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna might run into Sanam Singh and Somdev Devvarman, but only if things go well for both pairs in this upset ravaged edition of the Chennai Open.

Bhupathi, who was scheduled to play a quarterfinal match on Friday along with Bopanna, said he would rather focus on the match at hand. Speaking of his chances at the event, he came up with the answer that has been worn down to a cliché over the week.

Cautious

"I am taking it one match at a time" he said. "I’ve been playing for close to 15 years and I’ve lost to people I shouldn’t dream about losing to and it has also happened the other way" he added.

"They (Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski) have nothing to lose and with the crowd behind us, it should be a fun match."

He also said that the event presents an ideal opportunity to prepare for the Australian Open, where he has been a finalist on two occasions (1999 and 2009).

The only doubles Grand Slam title to elude him so far, winning it, is "a big goal for me" he said.

The decision to make mixed-doubles a part of the 2012 London Olympics might have drawn scorn from a lot of quarters — including references to the inclusion as a spot of ‘hit and giggle’— but Bhupathi’s success last year with Sania Mirza at the Australian Open would make the Indian media less critical of it.

Speculating on an event two years down the line might be foolhardy at best, but the Commonwealth games would be the more immediate goal for Bhupathi. "I will be partnering Leander Paes and try and win the gold" he said.

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