The Open Era
India · born Chennai, 1974 · Wimbledon doubles champion 1999 · twice Wimbledon mixed champion
All playersBack to the rankings
1
Wimbledon doubles title, 1999 with Leander Paes
2
Wimbledon mixed titles, 2002 and 2005
12
Major titles in doubles and mixed
4
Major doubles finals reached in 1999
52
ATP doubles titles
Born in Chennai in 1974, Bhupathi won the 1995 NCAA doubles title for the University of Mississippi and turned professional that year. In 1997 he won the French Open mixed with Rika Hiraki, the first major title won by an Indian. With Leander Paes he reached all four major doubles finals in 1999, the first team of the Open Era to do so, won the French Open and Wimbledon, and rose to No. 1 in doubles. He won four major doubles titles and eight in mixed, completing the career Grand Slam in mixed at the 2006 Australian Open, and 52 ATP doubles titles in all. He played Davis Cup for India from 1995 to 2011, winning 35 of 55 matches, and later captained the team. He retired in 2016.
| Wimbledon doubles | Champion 1999 with Leander Paes, beating Paul Haarhuis and Jared Palmer 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. Runner-up 2003 with Max Mirnyi, losing to Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 3-6 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed | Champion 2002 with Elena Likhovtseva, beating Daniela Hantuchová and Kevin Ullyett 6-2, 1-6, 6-1; champion 2005 with Mary Pierce, beating Paul Hanley and Tatiana Perebiynis 6-4, 6-2. Runner-up 1998 with Mirjana Lučić and 2011 with Elena Vesnina |
| Queen's Club | Doubles runner-up 2002 and 2003 with Max Mirnyi, and 2011 with Leander Paes, losing to Bob and Mike Bryan in a match tiebreak |
| Other grass finals | Halle 2000 with David Prinosil; 's-Hertogenbosch 2008 with Leander Paes |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Men's doubles | with Leander Paes |
| 2002 | Mixed doubles | with Elena Likhovtseva |
| 2005 | Mixed doubles | with Mary Pierce |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"We had a lot of fun out there. I think that's what actually makes a good mixed doubles team."
The person behind the player.
Roland Garros 1997
On the eve of the entry deadline he still had no mixed partner. Rika Hiraki had lost hers to a scheduling clash, and the two met by chance in the players' lounge. They were the last team into the draw, beat the top seeds Lisa Raymond and Patrick Galbraith 6-4, 6-1 in the final on his 23rd birthday, and made him India's first major champion.
Source: Olympics.comOn tour · from 1997
Bhupathi thinks the celebration began at a Challenger in Singapore in 1997, though he is not sure. Paes, at 5ft 10in, had to jump about two feet to reach his 6ft 1in partner's chest, and sometimes his head caught Bhupathi's jaw. "It was about getting that extra energy going in a tight match," Bhupathi said. The Bryan brothers later took it up.
Source: Olympics.comOn tour
Travelling the circuit together, the Indian Express pair watched whatever English and Hindi films they could find to escape the pressure. "Movies were just like a stress buster for us, I remember we watched 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' multiple times," Bhupathi said in 2021, while promoting Break Point, a documentary series about the partnership.
Source: The BridgeWimbledon 2005
Mary Pierce had nearly partnered him before, without it working out. In 2005 they beat Paul Hanley and Tatiana Perebiynis 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Pierce later called it the favourite of her four major titles, kept the trophy on her nightstand, and credited his humour and relaxed manner with keeping her calm under pressure.
Source: Deccan HeraldWimbledon 2005 · Oxford, Mississippi
His old university marked the win as its former player's eighth major title. At Mississippi he had been the first Rebel to win an NCAA title, the 1995 doubles with Ali Hamadeh, and SEC Player of the Year. Of his tally by then he said: "For me, eight is not so bad."
Source: Ole Miss AthleticsBreak Point, 2021
The partnership split and later reunited, after nine years apart, for the 2011 Australian Open. Looking back in 2021, he said the bond survived long silences: "if we don't speak for two weeks, if we don't speak for two years, this bond remains." Asked what he would tell his 25-year-old self, he answered: "Just listen to Leander more."
Source: Man's World IndiaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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