Leander Paes backs Mahesh Bhupathi; says, leagues will do to tennis what IPL has done for cricket

At 14, Mihika Yadav packs a punch. No wonder she is the country's top-ranked junior girl. On Thursday, the diminutive right-hander had the good fortune of ironing out a couple of flaws in her versatile game. Equipped with an immaculate swing more than anything else, the Bombay Scottish student produced an array of clean-as-a-whistle shots off both flanks. But like most modern-day players, she was thumping the ball from the baseline.

It caught Leander Paes's attention. As light made way for twilight at the Khar Gymkhana courts, one of the greatest Indian to have held a tennis racquet walked up to the net where Yadav was eagerly waiting for that pearl of wisdom. "When you stand on the baseline, you are being defensive. Try and come forward to the net," the multiple Grand Slam champion advised her. "Shall we try that now?"

As the two retreated to the baseline for another round of hits, many up and coming boys and girls of Yadav's age group were itching to step onto the court. But they had to wait. This time, Paes hit the ball shorter and with less power, thereby prompting Yadav to give up her cosy corners and approach the net with forcefulness. She did that with aplomb and closed out the point in a jiffy. "See that," Paes told her, with a thumbs-up to boot. "Now let's do some volleys," he added. Yadav excelled at that too. Paes had made her day.

Given a choice, Paes would have tutored every single kid present on court till the stroke of midnight and, perhaps, beyond. But he called it a day and then moved courtside to speak to mediapersons. On a high after his stupendous victory in the company of Rohan Bopanna in the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie against Serbia last weekend, Paes reckons he has a lot more to offer.

"My feeling on the tennis court — with my physicality and my enthusiasm, I feel like I am 27 years old. I feel excited about my tennis, I am very passionate about my tennis. I still believe I can win Grand Slams. I still feel I can win an Olympic medal. My recent performances, as you can see, have been good. But I realistically think I can play for another three or four years if I want to," he said.

Paes sympathised with Yuki Bhambri, who came a cropper in the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie against Serbia in Bangalore last weekend. "You can't be too tough on him. He has to look within just like I have to look within. Instead of being so tough on him, let's give him space to improve. We will be playing the Davis Cup next season. Let's see how he does then."

Paes also threw light on his fitness regimen. "I do four times the work I did as a 20-year-old. Nowadays, I have to do my abs and back every single day. Then again, if I do too much, then I have to deal with the wear and tear. So I have got to maintain a fine balance," he said.

A major reason for India's failure to produce an assembly line of top tennis players is the absence of world-class tournaments. All we have is the Chennai Open, an ATP 250 event.

"Having more tournaments is always a very good thing. Also, these upcoming leagues will be very good for tennis," Paes said, drawing parallels between the IPL and the tennis leagues proposed by Mahesh Bhupathi (International Premier Tennis League) and Vijay Amritraj (Champions Tennis League).

"In the IPL, you have Ranji players taking on the Dhonis and Sachins of of the world. Similarly, you have a local bowler bowling to Chris Gayle. During my time, I would mingle with Krishnans, Samprases, Agassis and see how they prepare for a match. I think these leagues will help our players get better and better." So will he make himself available to play in these leagues? "If it's a right project where I can make a difference, I will work with anybody," Paes said. Are we sniffing another patch-up?