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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Former Rebel Wins 40th Career Doubles Title
8/13/2007 | Men's Tennis
The two teams battled a little over an hour, with Bhupathi and Vizner winning just five more points for a 6-4, 6-4 decision. But two of those points were the key to the match, as the No. 8 seeds converted on both of their break point opportunities (one per set) while their No. 5-seeded opponents were unsuccessful on their only chance.
Although they were a first-time pairing, Bhupathi and Vizner were a well-accomplished team thanks to their individual careers. Bhupathi owned 39 career ATP doubles titles coming in, including four Grand Slam championships, while Vizner held 14 career ATP doubles titles.
On their way to the victory, Bhupathi and Vizner took out a trio of higher seeds, namely No. 4 Martin Damm and Leander Paes in the quarterfinals, No. 1 Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals and finally No. 5 Hanley and Ullyett. They saved two match points during their nail-biting 7-6(7), 2-6, 10-8 (Match TB) semifinal victory over the
After the big victory, Bhupathi talked about playing with Vizner and reaching a milestone.
“I was looking for a partner so I sent him a message a few weeks ago, and he was already playing with somebody else,” Bhupathi said. “We just got really lucky, because they were not going to get in at the last minute. A week ago he sent me a message, and here we are.
“I guess four, five years ago I set the goal at 50, so I am 80 percent there. We’ll see how long I can play, as long as I can enjoy it. At some point I’d like to get there, but one step at a time. Winning a super nine is always special. Especially the way we did it, beating three of the best teams in the world, so we'll just enjoy it now.”
While at Ole Miss, Bhupathi led the Rebels to the NCAA team finals. He became the first Rebel tennis player to win an NCAA title when he teamed with Ali Hamadeh to capture the Doubles Championship in 1995 and ended the year as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation. Bhupathi was an All-American and the 1995 SEC Player of the Year.