The 'Indian Express' has been given the top billing at the 355,000-dollar ATP Tour tennis event at Long Island, New York.

Yes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes will be sharing the same side of the court for the first time in 15 months this week when they take on Gustavo Kuerten and Flavio Saretta of Brazil in the first round of the tournament.

The Mallorca event in April last year was the last occasion when Paes and Bhupathi played as partners on the Tour although they continue to join hands for India in the Davis Cup ties, as they did at the Busan Asian Games last September.

The duo are pairing since their respective partners, Max Mirnyi of Belarus and David Rikl of the Czech Republic, have opted out of the Long Island event which comes exactly a week before the US Open.

Both players will revert to their partners for the year's final Grand Slam, which begins next week.