Mahesh Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974 at Chennai in Tamil Nadu) is India's biggest server. And he proved that in his very first Davis Cup match when playing against Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia. Goran dished out 26 aces in his 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win, Bhupathi responded with a near matching 18 aces, But what makes that particular tie, apart from the unbelievable collapse of the great server against Leander Paes, was the beginning of a Doubles combination, which was to shake the best in die world.It was a bold decision by the non-playing captain, Jaideep Mukherjea, to pair Leander and Bhupathi. And they hit it off immediately to give India a 2-1 lead. It was only the first of the big victories. In the space of next three years Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes reached the top of the world's Doubles ladder, Mahesh pausing in between to pick up the Mixed Doubles title of the French Open with Rika Hiraki of Japan. Mahesh first represented India in 1991 and was a finalist in the 1992 Wimbledon Junior Doubles Championship- He won the Chinese and Malaysian Satellite. Doubles matches in 1993 and the American Collegiate Tournament in 1994. The same year he won the Indonesian Open (Hard Court) Singles Championship. He was twice the National Champion in 1994 and 1995. He made his debut in the Davis Cup against Hong Kong in 1995 and paired with Leander Paes to win the Doubles of Aruba ATP Challenger. The same year, he won the team Doubles and Mixed Doubles matches in the SAF Games. He was a member of the Indian Davis Cup team which defeated Croatia in 1995. The same year he also qualified for the American Open Main Draw. Since his induction into the Indian Davis Cup squad, Mahesh, after a great victory over Gabriel Silberstein of Chile in the Davis Cup, has had a somewhat indifferent record as a Singles player but has more than made up with his effectiveness as a Doubles player, particularly in association with Leander Paes. He was presented with the Arjuna Award in 1995 and Padma Shri in 2001. The year 1997 was a big period for Mahesh when he climbed more than 200 places in Singles to break into the top 250 and move up to the top ten in the world of Doubles with six titles on the ATP Tour A march into the Semi-final of the U.S. Open earned them a fourth place at the end of the year. Towards the end or the period Mahesh and Paes, ranked 5, also improved upon their status by reaching the Finals of the World Doubles Championship at Hartford in the USA in 1998, a year in which they also reached the semi final of the Australian Open. The year 1999 of course was the best year of their career with the pair reaching the final of four successive grand slam events, winning the French and Wimbledon titles and still remaining at the No 1 in the world despite losing in the final of the World's Doubles Championships. Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes, who came together to play in the Olympics 2000, after eight months of estrangement, lost to the Australian pair Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge in the second round in Sydney. Tennis is very much a family matter with Mahesh, His father, C. G. K. Bhupathi, also favoring a double-handed grip, was on the fringes of the Davis Cup team. Mahesh's entry into the Davis Cup scene has given India the much-needed shot in the arm with a favorable verdict in the Doubles often being taken for granted. Source : "India's Highest Sports Awards and Those Who Won Them" by S.S.Gandhi, The Defence Review
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