Players to blame for new dope rules,says Bhupathi

As per the news rules stipulated by the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) from the start of this year,players ranked in the top 50 have to nominate one full hour daily when they will be available for dope testing.

Asked about his recent win in the Australian Open mixed doubles with Sania Mirza,Bhupathi said that this victory is something special in his career.

“Every Grand Slam win is special. The 1999 Wimbledon win is special as it was my first Grand Slam victory with Leander Paes. Pairing with Sania to win the Australian Open was also special,” said Bhupathi. He has 11 Grand slam doubles crowns to his credit and 44 ATP titles.

Is he open to the idea of pairing up with Rohan Bopanna,Bhupathi said: “Rohan is a great talent. But he has to climb up the ranking so that I can play with him.” Bhupathi reckons that new sensation Somdev Devvarman had the potential to break in to the top 50 in the world. Yuki Bhambri,on the other hand,is a “raw talent who has to be nurtured”,according to the experienced Bhupathi.

Expressing happiness at Sania’s recent performances,Bhupathi believes that the first lady of Indian tennis is now back in her elements and is high on confidence. “Her performance at the Pattaya WTA event (where she reached the last-eight stage),shows that she is on the right track,” he said.

As for his own future,34-year-old Bhupathi said that there’s very little chance that he will take to the courts in the 2012 Olympics. “I don’t see myself there. If Leander and I have to play five Olympics,then something is seriously wrong with Indian tennis,” he pointed out.

Bhupathi also slammed the government for allowing only Indian passport holders to represent the country. “This policy has already spelt disaster in the (women’s team tennis championship) Federation Cup. Our top players like Sunitha Rao and Sikha Uberoi have not been able to participate because of this rule,” Bhupathi rued.