Mahesh and Mirnyi try mastering the Masters

There’s little to choose among the best. You’ve just got to hope for the best and try your hardest.’’ That’s the pr...

There’s little to choose among the best. You’ve just got to hope for the best and try your hardest.’’ That’s the pragmatic attitude Mahesh Bhupathi has adopted for the Tennis Masters Cup, which begins in Houston this weekend.

Mahesh, who teams up with Belarussian Max Mirnyi for the ATP season-ender for the second straight year, will be hoping to improve on the one win they registered in 2003. Back then Mahesh summed it up aptly: ‘‘It’s the intensity of the competition that pressures most.’’

Bhupathi/Mirnyi, No. 5 seeds, go into the tournament with just one title, the AMS Madrid, under their belt and find themselves in the tougher Blue Group. It includes the defending champions, the Bryans; Bjorkman/Woodbridge, who have never finished below the No 4 rank in the ATP Doubles Race since the past four years and the Argentines Etlis/Rodrigues, the team that first beat them last year.

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Since teaming up for the first time in April 2002, Bhupathi and Mirnyi have been playing off and on this year. In 13 tournaments together, they boast of a 25-13 win-loss record. Interestingly, Bhupathi having played with six partners has won five titles, compared with Mirnyi’s success that’s measured at just one.

However, as Bhupathi puts it, these stats don’t matter. ‘‘It’s anyone’s game on a given day; doubles is all about gelling.’’

	THE FIELD

			RED GROUP: 1—Mark Knowles (Bahamas)/ Daniel Nestor (Canada); 4—Wayne Black/ Kevin Ullyett (Zimbabwe); 6—Martin Damm/ Cyril Suk (Czech Rep.); 8—Xavier Malisse/ Oliver Rochus (Belgium). BLUE GROUP: 2—Bob Bryan/ Mike Bryan (USA); 3—Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden)/ Todd Woodbridge (Australia); 5—Mahesh Bhupathi (India)/ Max Mirnyi (Belarus); 7—Gaston Eltis/ Martin Rodrigues (Argentina).

As far as the group goes, Bhupathi/Mirnyi will be facing the Bryan brothers for the first time this year, while against the others results have been mixed: winning against Bjorkman/Woodbridge and losing to Etlis/Rodiogues.

So what does Bhupathi hope for? His reply is pat: ‘‘Getting as close to the No 2 rank we achieved last year.’’

THE CONTENDERS

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THE BRYANS:
The first-ever brothers’ team to finish No 1 returns to defend its title. The pair this year have won an ATP-best six titles and lead the field at the Masters Cup by reaching 9 finals.

BJORKMAN & WOODBRIDGE:
The team is seeking a Top-4 finish for the fourth year in a row. They won their third straight Wimbledon title, which kept intact their perfect record Grand Slam finals, improving to 5-0. Woodbridge this year claimed his 79th title, moving him past Tom Okker for most titles in an Open Era.

ETLIS & RODRIGUEZ
Consistency has been their forte and the Masters Cup this year would make it their second in a row. With just one win, it’s the five semi-final appearances that give them an outside chance from the group.