Mahesh can beat me with his left hand: Shvetha Bhupathi

Shvetha Bhupathi is living life at full throttle to keep pace with hubby Mahesh’s work schedule

You’ll know how the saying ‘opposites attract’ works when you meet ace tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi and his wife Shvetha. He’s shy, reserved and definitely a man of few words. She’s the opposite – vivacious and chatty. “What you see is just how he is – he’s quiet except with a few of his close friends,” she says. The couple were in town in connection with the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open that starts later this month.

Living out of a suitcase as she travels with Mahesh, she says, “We’re in a different city everyday. I did a lot of travelling as a model, but it’s different now because the travel is accompanied by the stress of Mahesh’s game. My friends say it must be fun to travel, but it’s quite the opposite.”

Currently the director of Globosport, the sports and entertainment management company set up by Mahesh and herself, she admits she misses modelling. “Sometimes there’s a temptation to go back, but it goes away. In fact, I quit modelling to study business at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, but most people think I gave it up because I got married,” she clarifies.

However, Shvetha is now planning something new. “We are also into entertainment. I’ll work out something by merging the two together.”

Right now all she can think of is their annual holiday. “We were wondering where to go. A few of our favourite places abroad are New York and the Maldives. NYC because Mahesh has a lot of friends there and Maldives because we both like the beach,” she smiles.

An addition to the family will come, but in good time. “We’ve been married for three and a half years and Mahesh still has a few more years in this industry. In any case, it isn’t feasible to travel the way we do with a baby!” she says.

An avid tennis player in school, Shvetha says she gave it up a long time ago. “I do play with Mahesh —just for the fun of it. But he can beat me with his left hand!”

r_preeti @dnaindia.net