NEW DELHI, February 9: Leander Paes has plunged to his lowest rankings in singles in about two years within the first six weeks of 1998, dropping 85 points from last year. He lost 20 after his first round exit from the Australian Open.But the biggest blow came from Shanghai (China) where lack of funds forced the cancellation of the tournament.
Paes was the semi-finalist in Shanghai last year. The 65 points which dropped off sent him hurtling down the ladder. But the superstar, who was in the capital for a few hours to attend the Adidas launch function before leaving for the Dubai Open, is completely at ease now. ``It's immaterial,'' he said. ``It doesn't matter whether you are 130, 157 or 170. For me, the worst is over. I don't have much points to defend until the French (Open) in May.''
Ironically, 1997 was the first year he went without a singles title while he and his partner Mahesh Bhupathi almost became the best doubles pair in the world.
``I was unprepared, both physically and mentally. Thewhole of December was spent on shooting commercials and I did not play even one singles match. Naturally, it was a tough task to go out and play singles, that too in a Grand Slam.''
His disappointment comes through clearly when he failed to get a wild card for Dubai. Coming as it does at a time when even the Australian Open recognised the need to support Asian tennis by giving a wildcard each in the men's and women's sections. After the Dubai event where he is playing in doubles, Paes will be playing only singles in February. That includes four Challengers, all in Asia.
Moreover, he will be playing non-stop for the next 10 weeks starting from Dubai to Singapore Challenger, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Kyoto (Japan), onwards to the United States for the Lipton Championships, Davis Cup in Genoa (Italy) and Gold Flake Open in Chennai -- the next day after Davis Cup -- and the Baroda Challenger, if it comes through.
Then there is the problem of changing surfaces; from red clay in Genoa, he will move to hardcourt in Chennai and grass in Baroda.
After his 10-day stint at Melbourne with coach Bob `Nails' Carmichael, where the emphasis was on getting his first serve percentage up and bringing some kind of order to his backhand, he feels rather confident. ``Without playing any singles, how can you expect me to win any singles matches? I have about three-and-a-half months to get my singles rankings up and I hope I can do well.''
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
