It was just like old times, recalls Leander

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">MUMBAI: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi drubbed Argentina''s Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriques 6-3 6-2 in the second round of the Toronto Masters Series. It was the Indians'' first match as partners in two years, and Paes said it felt as if they had never stopped playing together.<br /><br />"We covered the court like world champions should," an upbeat Paes told <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">TOI</span> from Toronto, Canada. "Gaston and Martin are a top-10 team. I am pleased with our performance. It was as if we had not stopped playing. When you have played with each other as much as me and Mahesh have, you don''t forget certain things. You don''t forget who covers what shots, for example. Neither do you forget mutual respect and camaraderie."<br /><br />Paes said that the two were synchronising on court and felt confident about the Olympics. But the 31-year-old was a bit concerned about getting enough match practice. "That''s the only issue that is causing some anxiety," Paes said. "So we have to absorb as much as we can from every match that we get to play. We want to get to the stage where we can raise our game for breakpoints and setpoints."<br /><br />Asked if he and Mahesh had talked strategy for Athens, Paes replied: "We are doing our homework by playing. For instance, we could play Gaston and Martin in Athens.<br /><br />Or we could meet the Bryan twins (Bob and Mike), whom we are likely to play in our next round here. But it is the unorthodox pairs, like Roger Federer-Yves Allegro and Sebastien Grosjean-Arnaud Clement, who will be the dark horses in Athens."</div> </div>