The University of Mississippi Athletics
On This Date: Mahesh Bhupathi and Ali Hamadeh Crowned National Champions
5/21/2020 | Men's Tennis
May 20, 1995
Mahesh Bhupathi and Ali Hamadeh took down three nationally ranked teams, including No. 2 seed Paul Goldstein and Scott Humphries of Stanford to reach the final. For winning the doubles championship, Bhupathi and Hamadeh were rewarded with a wildcard into the 1995 U.S. Open Championships. They made their presence known as they took down veteran pros Mark Kyle and Peter Nyborg to advance to the second round, before falling to the No. 6 ranked doubles team in the world.
Subsequent to the Rebels winning the doubles championship, Ole Miss head coach Billy Chadwick said, "This is a great way to cap off a tremendous NCAA Tournament and truly makes this one of the outstanding accomplishments in Ole Miss sports. I am extremely proud of the team and their commitment all year. These players worked hard from day one."
ALI HAMADEH
Ali Hamadeh, the highly regarded doubles player, made headlines in 1996 for his singles play. He participated in the NCAA Championships for the third year in a row, as one of the nation's top singles players. Hamadeh ended the year ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 26-9 record and earned All-SEC First-Team honors.
In 1995 Hamadeh captured the NCAA Doubles Championship with Mahesh Bhupathi, defeating three nationally ranked teams to get to the final. The duo completed the season as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation in the Rolex Rankings and were named to the All-SEC First Team in doubles as well as the Rolex All-Star Team. Hamadeh teamed with Joakim Appelqvist to win the Rolex Region III doubles title and then went on to win the doubles title at the SEC Indoor Championships making him the SEC Doubles Champion for 1994.
MAHESH BHUPATHI
Mahesh Bhupathi blasted onto the scene as a freshman and left his mark on college tennis as one of the best singles and doubles players. He teamed with Ali Hamadeh to become the first Rebels to win an NCAA tennis title when they captured the nationally televised doubles championship in 1995. In addition to winning the NCAA Doubles Title, Bhupathi and Hamadeh became the first individuals in Mississippi history to be ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Bhupathi was the 1995 SEC Singles Champion, SEC Player-of -the-Year and finished ranked No. 3 in the nation. In his first year, Bhupathi ended the season as the third-best freshman in college tennis and earned ITA/Tennis Match Magazine Rookie of the Year honors. He made the SEC All-Position Team as the No. 1 doubles team in the conference and earned All-SEC honors in singles, not only as a freshman but also as the only player who was not a senior.
In 18 years on the ATP Tour, Bhupathi earned almost seven million dollars in prize money and captured 52 doubles titles, including 12 grand slam titles. In 1999 he and his partner Leander Paes won the French Open Doubles Championship and Wimbledon. They were the first doubles pair in the modern era to reach the finals of all four grand slams in a calendar year. The duo ended the year ranked No. 1 in the world doubles rankings.
In 2012, Bhupathi won the ATP Masters 1000 Paris with Rohan Bopanna, and was a finalist at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, his 5th year-end championship final showing. He captured his 12th grand slam title and eighth mixed doubles championship, teaming with Sania Mirza to win the French Open.
Bhupathi successfully started the IPTL which featured several of the top players in the world, including Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
For his accomplishments in collegiate tennis and on the world stage, Bhupathi was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame in May of 2010.
