Former tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi has once again teamed up with his best on-court partner Leander Paes. However, this time it’s not about smashing that perfect shot but showing the world their most glorious days and downfalls including their much-talked-about split through Zee5 docu-series ‘Breakpoint’.

Also Read: Off the court: Game on for tennis legends Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi

For 47-year-old Mahesh, the storytelling capabilities of filmmaker couple Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari convinced them to say yes to the project.

“It’s our story and we have been approached multiple times in the past and this time when Nitesh and Ashwiny were interested in telling the story, I think that’s what excited us and that’s what we been kind of said yes,” he told Opoyi.

Leander and Mahesh were once called the poster boys for the sport in the country. The two played together from 1994 to 2006 and reunited for their second stint from 2008 to 2011. The tennis icons were the first doubles team from the country to win at Wimbledon in 1999. Besides the Wimbledon championship that they won in 1999, Paes and Bhupathi also won two French Open titles in 1999 and 2001.

In ‘Breakpoint’, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have opened up on their struggles and their much talked about the break-up. The non-fiction series will premiere on October 1.

When asked if he feels that people will start taking sides after watching the show, Mahesh says, “Obviously every story has two sides and we both have given our perspective and our side. Hopefully, that will come across very loud and clear.”

Talking about experience facing the camera for the first time, he says that was not the struggle but the shoot that took place during COVID-19.

Also Read: Most times we stood with trophies our relationship was at its worst: Leander Paes on Mahesh Bhupathi

“I think the entire production was a bit challenging because it was all done during COVID and there were so many people across the different parts of the world that were shooting for this. For me, Nitesh and Ashwiny did a great job of preparing us with so many different zoom calls and narrating different aspects and times of our career so I think the preparation was so good that when the camera turned on, it was pretty easy.”

Talking about his equation with Leander now, Bhupathi says that they are very proud of everything they have achieved together and how successful they were.

Also Read: Has Kim Sharma confirmed her relationship with Leander Paes?

“We struck a bond over the last so many years after everything we achieved, how hard we worked and what we built so our bond will remain forever. People don’t understand this bond and we don’t expect them to understand because we have done it ourselves and together. Just because we don’t talk for a few months or few years at times, it doesn’t mean that goes away,” he says.

But do they miss good old times together?

“Do we miss it, of course, we miss it but because now we are old and we can’t play and we are sitting on a couch but I still like to be playing and winning Wimbledon absolutely but that’s the thing about professional sports right. It ends up at some point,” he said.

Bhupathi says that reliving the journey over the last 18 months has been super exciting for him.

“… especially seeing a lot of footage, matches, articles, and a lot of stuff about us that I have never seen before, so it was exciting. It still gives me Goosebumps at times,” he said.

Finally, being a sportsperson, How Bhupathi takes the new trend of players announcing a break for mental health?

“ People don’t understand the pressure that comes with being a professional athlete. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and a lot of other pressure people put on us when we are competing so different people deal with different ways. 20 years back we didn’t have opportunities or options to deal with these kinds of conditions but today we do and I think it’s very important to address them,” he sumps up.