adminBANGALORE. – A simmering feud between tennis stalwarts Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi has boiled over into an ugly public spat following India’s latest Davis Cup triumph in Bangalore.
No sooner had the hosts sealed a 4-1 win Sunday over Uzbekistan in the second round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie, than Bhupathi lashed out at his former doubles partner, who was dropped from the squad last week.
“We gave him the option (of being a part of the squad and playing as a reserve) and he readily took it,” Bhupathi, the non-playing Davis Cup captain, said after the win helped India qualify for the World Group playoff.
“So after that, to sulk about not being in the (playing) four was a bit unprofessional,” Bhupathi said of his friend-turned-foe. Adding fuel to the fire, Bhupathi put up a screen shot of his WhatsApp conversation with Paes on social media in a free-for-all slugfest aimed at countering Paes’ charge of being dropped in humiliating fashion at the last minute. – AFP.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter