Mahesh Bhupathi says that it was Leander Paes who decided to end their doubles partnership. Bhupathi will play next year with fellow Indian Rohann Bopanna, while Paes will partner Radek Stepanek.
"He just felt that we were possibly a little too old on the tour and not able to gel on a consistent basis,” Bhupathi told CNN-IBN. "He felt that our team needed fresh legs on either side. That was his point of view. Leander has a difference of opinion and I have to respect that. We're professionals and at the end of the day we both love to compete and to win and we do whatever it takes to get the best out of both of us…There was definitely no fall-out."
In related news, Bopanna’s former partner, Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi, told the Indian Express that he was "shocked" to find out that Bopanna had decided to split with him given that they had just won their first Masters Series title together at Bercy.