We must be realistic about Olympic medal: Leander

TWO TO TANGO: Leander Paes will partner Mahesh Bhupathi at the Olympics.

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It is less than a month to go for the Beijing Olympics and Indian tennis ace Leander Paes is tempering expectations about winning medals. He spoke to CNN-IBN about the Olympics and his partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi.

"Considering it is my favourite Gand Slam and to play for the first time with a partner with whom I had played just two tournaments before Wimbledon, it was a pleasant surprise. Sitting here today the semi-final loss still hurts because I felt that we really had a change to win the title," Leader said about the semi-final loss in the men's doubles at Wimbledon.

Digvijay Singh Deo: You are playing with Mahesh Bhupathi at the Olympics. You played a tournament before Wimbledon - the Ordina Open and reached the final there. So are you happy that you are playing together after a long time or there is still a long way to go?

Leander Paes: We were a little unlucky not to win when we were up a break in the first set in the final. But when it comes to Mahesh and myself, the on-court chemistry is something we don't have to worry about. It is more about injuries, physical fitness; it is more the camaraderie off-court that we need to focus more. But as far as tennis goes, it is of a very high level. We don't need to play that many tournaments to find that chemistry again.

Digvijay Singh Deo: You are talking about this camaraderie off-court and there is a problem. Both of you admit it. How do you guys managed to overcome all that at Ordina Open?

Leander Paes: When I step on the court with Mahesh I go there and do my job and when I get off that I just move away and do my own things. We are two very different people and we do things differently. When the matches finish or the practice is over we just move away and do our own things.

Digvijay Singh Deo: Are you guys putting a bit of pressure on yourself?

Leander Paes: I don't think we are putting pressure on ourselves. I think the expectations that the public...

Digvijay Singh Deo: Does that put pressure?

Leander Paes: Also we have got to be very realistic. At the beginning of the year I was not winning matches with my partner Paul Hanley at that time. Right now Mahesh is struggling with a few injuries and they are not winning many matches. We have got to be very realistic about these expectations that we have. At the end of the day when it comes to the Olympics, we not necessarily have to look at the medal-winning round; we have got to look at every single match. The first round, the second round. That’s when you build your confidence, that’s when you build your rhythm in the tournament. For me right from the first match, one's really going to focus hard and try and get our rhythm in that environment in Beijing. We can't take anything lightly at this level.