Mahesh Bhupathi qualifies for arguably being one of the best mixed doubles players in the world. On June 7, he claimed his 12th Grand Slam trophy when he won the French Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Sania Mirza. He has teamed up with Leander Paes to dominate the Men`s Doubles, for quite a long time. Bhupathi is among the best doubles tennis players in the world. Apart from contributing as a team, Bhupathi has proved his dexterity in tennis by winning a number of Singles titles too.

Early Life of Mahesh Bhupati
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi was born on June 7, 1974, in Peddapuram. After Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi is the most recognizable face in Indian men`s tennis. The year 1999 was the best year for Bhupathi on the professional circuit.

Career of Mahesh Bhupati
Mahesh Bhupathi became a professional tennis player in 1995. He paired up with Leander Paes, the combination which has worked wonders for the Indian tennis. The pair won six ATP Doubles titles in 1997. Bhupathi, along with Paes, won three doubles titles, including French Open and Wimbledon, in 1999. He and Paes became the first Indian team to enter the finals of all the four Grand Slams in the same year, since 1952. Bhupathi won four doubles titles by teaming up with Paes in 2001. In 2002, Bhupathi paired with Max Mirnyi and went on to grab the US Open Doubles title. In 2002, he partnered with Max Mirnyi and won the US Open Doubles title. In the same year, he grabbed the third Grand Slam Mixed Doubles title at Wimbledon, with Elena Likhovtseva. Bhupathi once again paired with Mirnyi in 2003, when the team reached the finals of Wimbledon Doubles. In 2004, he acquired the position among the top 10 Doubles players for the fourth successive year and sixth time in seven years. Bhupathi teamed up with Paes to play at six more events. The pair played at Davis Cup, secured two ties and then paired to represent India at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, wherein they managed to reach the semi-finals. Two years later, Bhupathi, along with Martina Hingis, defeated the team of Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in the Australian Open Mixed Doubles event. In 2007, the team consisting of Bhupathi and Czech Radek Stepanek made it to the Australian Open Men`s Doubles event`s quarterfinals. In 2009, Bhupathi-Sania Mirza team grabbed the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open by defeating Nathalie Dechy (France) and Andy Ram (Israel).

In 2011, Bhupathi reunited with former playing partner Leander Paes for the 2011 Australian Open. The team reached the final, but lost 3-6, 4-6 to the Bryan brothers. On 7th June 2012, Bhupathi and Sania Mirza won the French Open mixed doubles. On 4th November 2012, Bhupathi and partner Rohan Bopanna won the Paris Masters cup. In spite of suffering a setback with their loss against Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen in the ATP Tour Finals opener, the Indian duo reached the final round of the ATP Tour Finals, but suffered a defeat at the hands of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez. Bhupathi and Bopanna played with different partners for the first three months of 2013, Bhupathi winning the tournament in Dubai in March with Michaël Llodra, but rejoined starting with the Monte-Carlo Masters.

In 2012, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna`s journey at Wimbledon championship came to an end after the lost against Mikhael Elgin and Denis Istomin in the doubles.

Paes and Mahesh Bhupati
Both Paes and Bhupati when paired was called the "Indian express" by many. Their relationship was very strong for few years but they detached themselves from playing with each other later. But in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they decided to play together for their country, and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka.

In 2011, the "Indian Express" pair won the doubles title at Chennai Open. They reunited to play in a Grand Slam Tournament after nine years and claimed runners-up in the 2011 Australian Open and reached the semifinals in the year-end championships. The Indian duo has a 303-103 career record together. They have a higher success rate against various top teams. They have a Davis Cup record of longest winning streak in doubles, with 23 straight wins.

Paes - Bhupathi Split
Together with Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi featured in a number of Grand Slam events and went on to win some of the prestigious tournaments, including Davis Cup and Wimbledon. The pair climbed the ladder of the success, by winning a number of Doubles titles. However, due to some reasons that are still unknown, the Paes-Bhupathi relationship fluctuated, as the time passed by. It turned from good, bad to worse. Ultimately, in 2006, just after winning the Asian Games, both the players officially announced their split. They declared that they would never play together. However, even after sharing a cold relationship, the pair reunited, just to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. They, however, continue to maintain the split.

Mahesh Bhupathi`s Grand Slam success records

Year	Championship	Partner
1999	French Open	Leander Paes
1999	Wimbledon	Leander Paes
2001	French Open	Leander Paes
2002	U.S Open	Max Myrnle

Mahesh Bhupati"s Mixed-Doubles Records

Year	Championship	Partner	Result
1997	French Open	Rika Hiraki	Winner
1998	Wimbledon	Mirjana Lucic	Runner-Up
1999	U.S Open	Ai Sugiyama	Winner
2002	Wimbledon	Elena Likhovtseva	Winner
2003	French Open	Elena Likhovtseva	Runner-Up
2005	Wimbledon	Mary Pierce	Winner
2005	U.S Open	Daniela Hantuchova	Winner
2006	Australian Open	Martina Hingis	Winner
2008	Australian Open	Sania Mirza	Runner-Up
2009	Australian Open	Sania Mirza	Winner
2011	Wimbledon	Elena Vesnina	Runner-Up
2012	French Open	Sania Mirza	Winner

Mahesh Bhupati in Olympics
In the year 2004, Bhupati and Paes had represented India in the Olympics at Athens. They ended up securing the fourth place in the competition.

Mahesh Bhupati in Davis Cup
Bhupathi has donned Indian colours numerous times for the Davis Cup as well as other international tournaments, including the Asian Games. Bhupathi has played 55 matches for India in the Davis Cup (from 1995 to 2011), winning 35 and losing 20. Out of the 35 matches that he won, 27 of his victories came in doubles matches.

Awards to Mahesh Bhupati by Indian Government
Mahesh Bhupati had won the Padma Shri award for his contribution to Indian tennis in the year 2001. Besides this, he was also awarded with the Sports people for Change Karmaveer Puraskaar in the year 2007. Bhupati was also awarded with the Davis Cup Commitment Award.

Personal Life of Mahesh Bhupati
Mahesh Bhupathi is Christian by religion. Bhupathi is an alumnus of the University of Mississippi in the United States of America. He was married to model Shvetha Jaishankar. But they were divorced after seven years of marriage.

He married second time with Lara Dutta, Miss Universe of 2000. On January 20, 2012 Saira, Mahesh`s daughter was born. From 2010 he began a Film Production company in Bollywood known as Big Daddy Productions.