Kolkata, June 13: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand on Thursday said he was "amused" to see world`s former number one doubles pair in tennis Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes compete with each other at the French Open recently. "I felt amused to see them play each other," Anand told newspersons here. Paes and his partner David Rikl fought back after dropping the first set to triumph over Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the quarter final at the Rolland Garros earlier this month. The Indian duo, who were nicknamed `Indian Express` for their all conquering run, split for the second time last year and have been playing with overseas partners ever since. However, they have teamed up for Davis Cup matches all along. Describing both Bhupathi and Paes as "good friends", Anand said "I met Mahesh for the first time in Sydney where I had gone to promote chess. I have met Leander also a couple of times". Anand revealed that despite his pressing schedule, he kept track of several other games like soccer, tennis, cricket and snooker.

Bureau Report