He was expected to give India at least two gold medals for India at the Commonwealth Games but all Leander Paes got was a bronze and that too at the cost of another Indian pair.
Paes, the most successful Indian tennis player with 12 Grand Slam titles, did not choose to blame the defeats entirely on tight scheduling of matches but said it did affect chances.
The day he and Mahesh Bhupathi played an exhausting men's doubles quarter-finals, Paes took the court within two hours, this time partnering Sania Mirza, and ended on the wrong side of the result in the mixed doubles event.
"In men's doubles you play with balls used in men's matches and in mixed doubles you play with balls used for ladies matches. The show court was fast and the centre court a bit slow. And I had to play the mixed doubles just after one hour and 40 minutes. I have been doing that all through my career. But time in between was a problem," he said.
"Physically, there is no issue, I am fit and strong. We lost to the better team that day," he added.
Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were outright favourites from the day the draw was made for the men's doubles event. But in the end, they had to fight it out with Davis Cup team-mates Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman.
"We had to bounce back; we did not want to leave country without a medal (from us). It's not a fun situation. We are hanging around for the last three weeks. Played high quality tennis but disappointed that we had to walk with a bronze medal," Bhupathi said.
The way they got their 24th consecutive Davis Cup win in Chennai a few weeks back, hardly any Indian tennis fans would have thought that Lee-Hesh would end up getting just a bronze.
"We were actually playing for pride. It happens in sport (that you face compatriots). That's the beauty of the game," Paes said.
On being asked if motivation is different or rather not that intense while playing against compatriots, Bhupathi said, "We all are professionals. Rohan had done well at US Open also. On court we are just players who want to win."
Paes said the conduct of the Games in New Delhi has boosted the infrastructure for tennis in New Delhi.
"Stadiums have never looked that better. The centre court is as good as centre court in Chennai. We can have an (ATP) tour event here. Having a second show court is real bonus," he said.
