Leander may reject AITA decision: Vece Paes

New Delhi: Vece Paes, father of Leander Paes, has said that the All Indian Tennis Association’s (AITA) decision to send two men's doubles teams to the London Olympics has not been conveyed to his son, and that the Indian tennis ace may not even accept it.

"The decision hasn't been conveyed to Leander, so we'll just have to wait for Leander to react to it. He is in London at the moment, sleeping, so the moment he wakes up the decision will be his to react to," Paes senior told CNN-IBN. "Leander is a gentle soul. He's played for the country for many years. It is the mark of all champions; he's a stubborn guy. Once he's taken a decision on principle, it's going to be very difficult to get him off those principles."

Paes had already rejected the two-team formula when it had been mooted by AITA, and his father said the decision to pair him with young Vishnu Vardhan after Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Boppana had refused to partner Paes was "unacceptable".

Vece Paes says his son may not accept the decision to pair him with Vishnu Vardhan at the London Olympics.

"This has nothing to do with disciplinary action ... it's all to do with Leander having the choice of partner, of getting the best partner to play. If AITA cannot guarantee Leander-Mahesh or Leander-Bopanna and he has to play with a younger player, that is unacceptable," said Paes senior, indicating that his son could still reject AITA's decision to send two teams to London.

"It's about principles. You have two players refusing to play for their country or with Leander. Leander again has to compromise. This has happened in the past and Leander is tired of compromising."

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