Sania and Bopanna, competing in the International Premier Tennis League for Micromax Indian Aces, have lost only one mixed doubles contest in the ongoing edition.
Their comradeship all too visible both on and off the court, Sania and Bopanna faced a barrage of questions on whether they could be tying up on the Tour in the coming season.
"The beauty of our relationship is that it doesn't revolve around tennis. He is my best friend off the court too, so it doesn't mean that I have to play with him all the time. But yes, we would play great tennis together. I would love to partner him," added the Hyderabadi ace.
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At last night's game against Japan Warriors, Bopanna
teamed up with Croat Ivan Dodig in the men's doubles clash against his veteran compatriot Leander Paes and Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Bopanna and Dodig lost the set in a shootout after giving a tough fight to Paes and Herbert.
Asked about his thoughts on squaring off against Paes, Bopanna said, "I have played Leander many times. In fact, we have played more against each other than with each other."
And from there came the question on whether they could be partnering each other in the coming season keeping the Olympics in mind.
"I am not going to break that partnership. For me and Leander to play together at the Olympics, we have to have the rankings. At current rankings we wouldn't even make the Masters Series," he said.
Coming back to IPTL, both the players agreed that the league has helped form lasting friendships between the players in a sport, which is very individual in its basic form.
"Tennis is such a lonely sport, we travel alone on the tour and solve our problems at an individual level. But the IPTL has been different. We are all enjoying the team bonding. We look out for each other during matches. I can say that I have a great new friend in (Indian Aces coach-cum-player) Fabrice Santoro," said Sania.