Bhupathi to meet Rios in opener

The fashion in which he qualified proves how much he has gained from the historic fortnight in Stade Roland Garrros. “I was serving really big and did not drop serve in all the three matches,” Bhupathi said during a rainbreak, just minutes after he got on to court No. 12 for his first feel of the Wimbledon grass. He lost just 15 games in three matches, something which he may not have done in his entire career.

“These matches have given me a lot of confidence,” he said. “I hope that I will be able to carry this form into the main draw.” His coach Enrico Piperno was quite nervous in the beginning because Bhupathi hadn’t played any singles since Budapest, last month. “But coming into the qualifying, I was just thrilled by the way he played. He is moving much faster than he had been doing, but I agree that he has put in a lot of work in that department. He played really big and it is not that his opponents were playing very badly. They, too, were playing really well. But Mahesh had a phenomenal first serve percentage and he was returning really well,”`Rico’ said.

The first round against David Salvadore was perhaps the only match in which he had an easy time. Salvadore was essentially a clay courter and didn’t have a clue to playing on grass. His second round opponent, Frenchman Nicolas Escude, had a couple of wins in the French Open and had even beaten Pat Cash in the Queen’s qualifying.

Bhupathi was lucky that the tournament officials decided to make it the best-of-three sets, instead of the traditional best-of-five, because the schedule was severely disrupted due to rain.

That should not, in any way, take the credit away from the Indian. His body language and the unusual spring in his walk was indicative of the best of times he has been enjoying of late.

Incidentally, Piperno, became the first Indian coach to be part of a Grand Slam win. As he says, Bhupathi has been playing well ever since Piperno became his coach. But then, that can also be sheer coincidence.

Says Piperno, “I get a feeling that it is going to be a big Wimbledon for him. The way he is playing, he can definitely manage to win a couple of rounds. But he has to maintain his form.”

Meanwhile, Bhupathi said he will be partnering Rika Hiraki in mixed doubles. “I didn’t know how big it was until I saw the paper clippings and the reports from back home,” Bhupathi said about his French Open mixed doubles title. Soon after the win, he was interviewed by Japanese television for close to two hours.

Initially, he was having fun but after he won a few matches began winning matches, Bhupathi played sensational tennis. “Hiraki was just superb,” Bhupathi said.

“We weren’t overawed with the situation and felt we had a chance to win title after reaching the final,” he added.

Following are some of the other qualifiers: Patrick Baur (Germany); H Davids (Holland); Chris Van Garsse (Belgium); David Rikl (Czech Republic); Wayne McGuire (United States); Tom Larkham (Australia); Luis Herrera (Mexico); Rodolphe Gilbert (France); J Salzenstein (United States); A Clement (France).