Chennai, Sept 24: At a time when top players are fuming over the scheduling of tennis tournaments, largely spurred on by a soggy US Open, Indian star Mahesh Bhupathi chooses to differ.
"I don't go by the majority view of tournament schedules being unwieldy and don't really know why such a huge fuss is being created. It's up to players as to which tournament they wish to play or skip. I have no grievances with the current schedule since it works perfectly fine for me," the 37-year-old told TOI.
Coming a day after Somdev Devvarman lashed out hard at the choc-a-bloc manner of stacking up tournaments, and even going on to state that players are "underpaid", Bhupathi agrees that players are not always handed a fair deal. "Going by the number of people who turn up to watch matches, it's true that players do not often receive a fair share of the revenue in some of the top-ranking tournaments," he says.
Reeling from a 1-4 loss to Japan in the World Group playoff clash in Tokyo, which saw the Indians being relegated to Asia Oceania Group I, Bhupathi feels Leander Paes' absence did not really alter fortunes and that it's just a matter of time before the country regains its place in the elite 16 club. "We were lucky to win the doubles without him. In fact, it was Somdev's injury that cost us dear." PTI
