Once again the small city of Halle/Westf. is preparing to host Germany's only lawn tennis tournament, which will take place at the Gerry Weber Stadium from June 4 to 12. Indian tennis stars Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have entered the main draw of the doubles competition.
Leander Paes (29) is coming back to Halle with good memories. Last years tournament proved to be a very competitive tennis tournament as Paes and his Czech partner David Rikl showed their class while winning the title easily. The duo impressed the German spectators as they easily rushed into the final, where they beat Tomas Cibulec/Petr Pala 6:2, 7:5.
Mahesh Bhupathi (30) will be the second Indian entry to the tournament. Bhupathi has already won 37 ATP tournaments and claimed the Grand Slam titles at Paris, Wimbledon and at the US Open. Bhupathi made it to the final of the Gerry Weber Open 2000 to finish second with German player David Prinosil.
The tournament organisers are speculating, that Paes and Bhupathi might start as a team at Halle. This would be a big sensation, as the duo known as the "Indian Express" opted to choose new partners after having some problems several years ago. Paes/Bhupathi kept their partnership only alive when they turned-up to represent India in the Davis Cup.
So we're likely to see Paes/Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia&Montenegro) and Bhupathi/Todd Woodbridge (Australia) entering the court, instead of the Paes/Bhupathi combination. Paes/Zimonjic and Bhupathi/Woodbridge are currently playing at the French Open.
theInder.net and IndianFootball.Com are set to report from this event and to highlight all matches involving the stars of Indian tennis - Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
