The other half of the pair -- Leander Paes -- was talking to reporters at Calcutta in a teleconference today from Newport where he is defending his Hall of Fame singles title. Despite his busy schedule, Paes found time to thank the media back home for their support by writing a letter. Copies of the letter were released by his father Dr Vece Paes.

Mahesh is to leave for Muscat on Saturday and then to London where he will work with his trainer Will Upton, with whom he had tied up earlier this year.If the recovery is complete, the next assignment will be at Stuttgard in 10 days' time. Mahesh may have to go through the qualifiers for singles but will be amongthe top seeds in the doubles where he will partner Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Paes and Bhupathi will come together only at Dumauraier in Montreal in August.

``Our next major thrust will be the US Open in September. It will be an uphill task, for every pair will be out to get us. But you can bet we will try our best,'' said Mahesh.

``Our next target after that is the Sydney Olympics gold medal in 15 months' time. We have that in our sights and will plot our calender and schedule to have a go at that big one,'' he stated.

``Leander and I have a professional relationship,'' he answered to the most obvious question of their alleged differences. ``We get along perfectly well. In fact, one of the strengths of our partnership is that each chips in when the other is in trouble. But for our understanding each other so well, this would not be possible.''

``We give 100 per cent as players. Off court, we are friends. He has his own set of friends and I have a different set. But that does not mean we havefallen apart,'' Mahesh stated.

``We have heard what is being written about our partnership and spoke to each other about it after the semifinals. There is no rift at all.''Changing the topic, he said, ``We enjoyed the French Open. But winning Wimbledon was a dream come true for both of us and we are savoring every bit of it.''

``The courts played true in the first week and allowed us to settle in. By the time the second week dawned, we were confident and hitting the ball well. It was during this time that the courts and the weather deteriorated. Also, my groin muscle injury started playing up. But we played more of serve-and-volley in the second week," he added.

Paes told reporters in Calcutta, ``What makes our win even more satisfying was the fact that neither of us was in the best of shape. I was recovering from a viral flu.''

``Also, going straight from clay to grass isn't easy. But Hesh and I still wanted to give it our best shot...And once we were in the final, we weren't going to settle forsecond best,'' Paes said in his letter.

``When the moment came, we were speechless. It took long for the realisation to sink in. I wished my family were around to share my great moment. They were there when I got the Olympic medal and this was as good a feeling,'' he said.

Paes, who partnered Lisa Raymond, added the Wimbledon mixed doubles title was a bonus. ``I have been playing quite a bit of this event and I knew that it was just a matter of time before glory came my way.''