Together they made an unassailable pair.
When they trotted on to the court to take on the lesser or greater fancied mortals on the other side, it was an
occasion of unfabricated joy for many a Indians.
At last here were two, who could keep the Indian flags flapping in those Grand Slams. Hard, grass, clay they excelled on all.
Their fascile understanding of eachother's game, rhythmic placement of shots and confident bodylanguage made them the indomitable force in the world of tennis.
Like brothers in arms they etched their way into the Indian tennis annals.
But what went wrong?
Success can make you thankful or wilful.
somwhere down (up) the line, they seem to have lost the zest to make fruitful use of eachother's adroitness.
When two are so much made for each other why would they want to part ways just when everything seemed to fit like a cog.
Whatever their personal differences of 'opinion' it is of no concern to the tennis afficianados as long as it
doesn't diffuse onto the tennis courts.
But that is precisely the state of matter.
Indian fans have but become accustomed to a repetitive design. Everytime before the start of a prestigious
tournament, where the country's tri-colours are at stake, it has become a pattern for one or the other to vent their purported dislike for each other in overt ways such that tread the path of vituperative purgation.
First it was the revolt against Leander Paes' captaincy, stolidly supported by Mahesh Bhupathi.
Second, few days before the Davis Cup tie with Japan, it was Leander's emphatic revealation of how he sacrificed his supposedly flowering singles career to mentor and uplift a relatively dormant rookie, Bhupathi.
But then again the pair surprised everyone with their inviolable play and soon the episode was washed off the
public consciousness for some time at least.
Now, months before the Olympics is bracing to heave itself on the willing spectators, Bhupathi has gone all
out to express his apparent displeasure about teaming with Paes.
As loving spectators of tennis or for that matter any sport, we expect at least a scintilla of respectability from our players.
It is totally unbecoming of senior players to water their discontent in public, at a time when the country's only medal hope sits enceinte on their reliable shoulders.
What's the use of nurturing ambitions when one is unable to adhere to the basic spirit of sport.
After being in the sport for so long, having tasted their share of delightful successes together and 'untogether', it is time they mould their vims towards the development of the sport.
Their disgruntled attitude and public painting of sour relations are of late edging on the irksome.
On the part of the All Indian Tennis Association it's better they give the players free rein to choose their discerning ways, rather than coercing them in to an apathetic union.
As for the Olympics, even if we do snap a medal, it will always be remembered as one won with a bitter taste.

A 19 year-old girl barely 5" 5 and a half inches tall. The lady exuded an arcane aura that left many guessing what nestled deep in the cockles of her heart.

Justine Henin, all of 25, decided to throw in the towel at an age when some of the greatest sport stars were in their full bloom. Citing no specific reason, Justine Henin quit, when she felt her life goals have taken a diversion, where tennis was no longer in the scheme of things.

Henin is the first woman in tennis to call it quits, while still sitting pretty on topmost rung of the WTA. At the press conference she convened, Henin announced stoically, "I'm at the end of the road. This is the end of a child's dream." "I started thinking about (retirement) late last year," she said. "I was at the end of the road. I leave with my head held high."

It's a pity though. Women's tennis has lost one of its biggest challenges. A lady known for her ravaging backhands, this jolting departure leaves a deep void on the tour. None of the other women players seem to have the wares to become a dominant force. The top 10 itself has just about four players who have won a Grand Slam. Others rest on the points garnered through ATP titles. Biggest example is Jelena Jankovic.

When it came to Henin at least you knew you could look forward to a "pretty" game as against those "pretty" faces. Powerful strokes, coalesced with clinical backhands and unerring serves.

She looked frail. It did look as if even a whiff of air was enough to uproot her from her place of chosen roost. But when she got moving, as those supposedly muscular limbs got on to their natural calling, those benign signs of possible capitulation seemed to wane.

However, it is a pretty spectre as a spectator enjoying those heart-thumps, when your favourite player is oozing liquid sodium out there, while you implore the ubiquitious overseer to help out for the smooth conduct of the proceeding of course heavily disposed to suit your sentimental yearnings.

But then it may be not be as pretty for the player out there. It may be deeper. Possibly it doesn't end with the victory. There is much more they yearn for.

If Henin is done with tennis, it is time we are done with Henin too. Of course she will be missed greatly. But then again it willl be for a month or two. A year at the most.

Soon she too will adorn the history books, placed among those discerning tennis masters, who did what mattered. A cute, small piece of history.