Mahesh Bhupathi on Saturday said he was confident of his chances at the French Open beginning Monday.
"We will be seeded two, and with the way we are playing, once we get past the first few rounds we will be a tough team to beat," said Bhupathi, who will continue his successful partnership with Max Mirnyi of Belarussia in the championships.
Bhupathi, winner of four doubles and three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and over $2.8 million in prize money, has struck a purple patch in recent weeks. He won two ATP titles and reached the final in another with Mirnyi. His combination with Mirnyi, with whom he won the US Open last year, has brought him tremendous success.
The two, who reunited in April after a brief separation last year when Mirnyi wanted to focus on his singles matches, won the very first tournament they played in, at Estoril, Portugal, on clay.
Then followed the Masters title at Monte Carlo and a semi-final placing at Rome Masters event. The pair sustained the momentum to reach the final of another clay court Masters at Hamburg.
Besides convincing Mirnyi to rejoin him, another decision that has worked wonders for Bhupathi is to contract Mose Navarra, a former player of Italy, as his travelling coach.
"Mose is a very close friend and someone who has been a professional himself, so he understands the pressures and intricacies of the game and that is helping me a lot on and off the court," Bhupathi said.
The coming two weeks also hold the exciting prospect of Bhupathi taking on his former partner and Davis Cup star Leander Paes.
Paes himself has enjoyed good success this year, winning two doubles and the Australian Open mixed doubles with the legendary Martina Navratilova. Also, being ranked fourth in the doubles race, Paes can expect his pairing with Czech Republic's David Rikl to be seeded in Paris.
What adds spice to the drama is the fact that Bhupathi and Paes, who became the first pair since 1952 to reach all the four Grand Slam finals in 1999, have together won the French Open twice in 1999 and 2001.
"Obviously it would be a tough situation for both of us, but we will have to be professionals and do the best we can," said Bhupathi of playing against Paes.
Bhupathi, who won the Wimbledon mixed doubles event last year with Elena Likhovtseva, will join hands with the Russian again at Roland Garros.
