Bhupathi, Paes seek No.1 ranking

"If we set off to a good start, I think we can finish number one this year. We are going to try and become number one again in doubles," Bhupathi told reporters on Wednesday during a visit to a 'Mini Tennis Camp', being held in Bangalore.

Bhupathi said Paes and he would play together for the whole year and compete in 20 doubles matches. "Whenever we are not playing doubles, we will try to play as many singles as possible."

Referring to the season that had gone by, he said it had been a pretty good year doubles-wise. "We finished fourth. With all that bad start and not winning matches in the first four months, we did a good job to finish fourth."

Bhupathi said they had nothing to defend before the Monte Carlo event in May.

Asked if the players are going to suggest for a change in the venue -- Lebanon -- for India's Davis Cup tie in February in view of security concerns in that country, he said: "We are going to suggest that. But we are sure we are not going to win that argument. I am sure we are going to go there and play.

"We would like to win against Lebanon on the second day itself (3-0)," he said.

Bhupathi said he would also focus on singles with an eye on the Davis Cup and that's one of the reasons he is taking part in the coming Tata Open Championship in Chennai.

He said it would be tough in the first three doubles matches at the Tata Open as they had not played together in the last two to three months. "The field is more tougher in doubles".

Bhupathi picked Rohan Bopanna, the runner-up in the recent National Championship in Delhi, and Harsh Mankad as India's bright prospects. "People have been asking....who after Leader and Mahesh..... Rohan and Harsh have shown promise and results," he said.

Bhupathi said both Paes and himself are "definitely going to participate in next year's Asian Games".

Bopanna, who was also present, said he would take part in two future tournaments in Dubai as well as in a few Challengers.

Another upcoming player, Prahlad Srinath said he was dogged with injury in the last season but managed to perform well and enjoyed the game.