Paes, Bhupathi part ways again

India's top doubles players Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have decided to part ways for the second time after a string of disappointing performances lately.

"They have not been doing too well in recent weeks. It was Mahesh who decided to opt for a separate partner," Leander's father Vece Paes said on Monday.

The senior Paes said Mahesh came up to Leander after the duo's first round loss at the Delray Beach tournament last week and expressed his desire to play with a new partner.

"Lee was surprised ... But life has to go on," he said.

Leander has temporarily teamed up with South African John Laffnie de Jager for the Indian Wells Masters starting on Monday, while Bhupathi has joined forces with the United States's Jan Michael Gambill.

Asked whether he was hopeful of the two coming together again, Dr Paes said, "The two are a very good doubles team. So I hope whatever decisions they take is the best for them as well as for the country.

"However, it is up to them. This time the decision seems to have been taken in a matured way; so if it not to be, it is not to be."

Paes and Bhupathi had taken the tennis world by storm in 1997 winning their first major title together on the ATP tour at the 1997 Gold Flake Open. They won 12 titles thereafter leading up to a sensational 1999, which saw them become the first pair since 1952 to reach all four Grand Slam finals and win the Wimbledon and French Open titles.

But even while they were on a roll, there was trouble brewing between the players because of the presence of Enrico Piperno on Mahesh's entourage. They went through a bitter split in early 2000 that ended just before the Sydney Olympics.

Paes and Bhupathi made a strong comeback after an initial slump on the return trail and claimed their second French title at Roland Garros to end last year fourth in the Champions' Race. But they suffered a string of reverses during the last five weeks and dropped out of the top ten in the ATP Doubles Champions Race. They also lost in the round-robin league stage of the World Doubles Challenge in Bangalore.

Earlier reports:
- Just do it! - Rohit Brijnath
- Paes dismisses talk of split with Bhupathi
- Paes and Bhupathi aiming to regain top spot
- Piperno is cause of Paes-Bhupathi split
- Paes-Bhupathi vow to fight on
- Paes-Bhupathi to get together again?
- 'Mahesh and Leander realize that without each other the magic is missing' - Enrico Piperno interview
- 'We compliment each other in such a way that we're obviously best together' - Mahesh Bhupathi interview