The University of Mississippi Athletics
Former Ole Miss Tennis Star Wins Grand Slam
6/21/1999 | Men's Tennis
June 6, 1999
PARIS - Former Ole Miss All-American Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up with his partner Leander Paes to win the French Open Doubles Championship Sunday at Roland Garros. The two defeated Goran Ivanisevic and Jeff Tarango 6-2, 7-5 in a rain delayed match which began Saturday and concluded Sunday with their first ever Grand Slam men's doubles title.
"We came so close in Australia, but didn't get the title," Bhupathi said minutes after they won. "I saw a picture of us in the paper the next day and it was pretty depressing. Ever since then, we've worked hard and to finally come up with this title is very heartening to us. I'm still in shock. I just spoke to my parents. They showed the match yesterday and the two games today. I'm sure it is very big news in India.@
For Bhupathi and Paes the victory is historic. They are the first players from India to win a Grand Slam title in a country where cricket is the No. 1 sport. The match was 6-2, 5-5 in the final Saturday, before rain forced the postponement of the match until Sunday morning. Bhupathi and Paes held off a determined Ivanisevic and Tarango of the United States, for the win.
Bhupathi has now won two Grand Slam titles, both coming at the French Open Championships. In 1997, he teamed with Japan's Rika Hiraki to capture the Mixed Doubles Championship
At Ole Miss, Bhupathi became the first Rebel tennis player to win an NCAA title when he won the 1995 Doubles Championship. In addition, Bhupathi was the 1995 SEC Singles Champion and SEC Athlete-of-the-Year.
