London Olympics: Paes-Vardhan, Bhupathi-Bopanna cruise into next round, Bopanna says selection row a thing of past now

India’s warring duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who were locked in an ugly selection row in the build-up to the Olympics, advanced to the second round of the men’s doubles competition along with their respective partners, in London on Monday, says a report in The Hindu.
Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, whose insistence to play together sparked off the selection row, staved off a spirited challenge from Belarus pair of Max Mirnyi and Alexander Bury 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 8-6 in a tussle which lasted two hours and 26 minutes here.

Later in the evening, Paes and Vishnu Vardhan also put up a spirited performance to see off Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-2 in a match that went on for 112 minutes at the Wimbledon.

Speaking after the match, Bopanna made it clear that the dispute with Paes is no longer on their minds because they are firmly focused on bringing home a medal.  "The baggage is forgotten and gone, long gone. We got here well prepared so for us it's just one match at a time and take it from there," Bopanna said, according to a report in The Times Of India.

"We are happy that we got a lot of practice here for the last week and now to play this tough match and take a win is just going to take our confidence higher."

The Indian team will face French duo Richard Gasquet and Julien Benneteau in the second round and Bopanna is confident they are in good enough form to enjoy a long run in the event.

"We were playing at a high level," he said. "I don't think we were nervous at all. We played a really tough team, Mirnyi is number one in the world (in doubles). Obviously it was a very tough game out there, but we played our game and came through on top."

Meanwhile Vishnu Vardhan thanked doubles partner Leander Paes for making his dreams come true as the world number 302 made his Wimbledon debut in the Olympics on Monday. Vardhan secured a last-minute spot in the Olympic men's singles event on Sunday when Paes called to tell him that Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber had pulled out with a hamstring injury, says a report in The Times Of India.

The 25-year-old had no idea that the place was available until he heard from Paes and he dashed down to the All England Club the next morning to register for selection.

As the highest ranked alternate on site, Vardhan was immediately entered into the draw and he made his first appearance at Wimbledon on Monday in a first round clash against Slovenia's Blaz Kavcic  Although Vardhan was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by world number 77 Kavcic, he admitted the experience of stepping onto the world's most famous tennis courts still made it an unforgettable moment.

"It's a great experience for me. I have never played at Wimbledon - I was not a good enough junior to play on these courts so I was very lucky to play the singles here," Vardhan said, adding, "I worked really hard in the match and although I couldn't win not many Indians have played singles in the Olympics and I am really happy to be one of them.

"Leander is the person I should thank. First of all I am here because of him. Secondly, the day before yesterday he called me up late evening and said 'there is a spot in the singles draw and you need to go and sign up first thing in the morning'. "I was not aware of that. I am really happy to get more matches on these courts so I am more prepared for the doubles."