“I am at level 43,” was how Rohan Bopanna summed up his feelings after becoming only the third Indian to win a men’s doubles grand slam title, taking the Australian Open crown with partner Matthew Ebden following a commanding win over Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in Melbourne on Saturday.
“You all got to know how old I am,” he said with a laugh, adding “I want to change that a bit. I want to say I am at level 43, not age 43.”
The Indian ace acknowledged the support he had got from his Australian partner, saying: “This would not have been possible without Matthew. We had a fantastic year last year and for me to win my first grand slam of the Asia Pacific here is totally awesome... One of the reasons why I keep coming back is because how well we are taken care of at the Australian Open.”
While talking about the support he got from his family, he mentioned how grateful he is to his coach Scott Davidoff. “Tennis is a great teacher and there is no better coach than Scott who has been with me for over a decade. It has been a tough tough journey. This victory is as much yours as is mine,” he said.
On a lighter note, he added that his in-laws, who were present courtside on Saturday, were also present when he won the French Open mixed doubles title in 2017. “I don’t know why they are not coming more often,” he quipped.
In a high-quality exhibition of tennis, second-seeded Bopanna and Ebden won 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 against the Italian team in the final that lasted one hour and 39 minutes.
Only the iconic Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won Major titles for India in men’s tennis while trailblazer Sania Mirza did it in women’s.
For Bopanna it is his second grand slam title, having won the French Open mixed doubles trophy with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski.
At 43, Bopanna also became the oldest grand slam champion in men’s tennis. He bettered the record of Jean-Julien Rojer who, at the age of 40, had lifted the French Open men’s doubles trophy in 2022 with Marcelo Arevola.
Bopanna was playing his third men’s doubles final at grand slam events, having ended runner-up at the US Open twice (2013, 2023).
“A couple of years ago I said in a video message, I am going to call it a day because I was not winning matches. I went five months without winning a match. I thought that was the end of my journey but my perseverance, and (something) inside me kept me going,” Bopanna said after his triumph.
“It really changed so many things, I got a wonderful partner (Ebden) to get me to all the laurels,” he added.
Bopanna is already assured of becoming the new No.1 on Monday when the ATP rankings will be updated. At 43, he will be the oldest player to be perched on top of the ranking pile.
Ebden, who has a Wimbledon men’s doubles title, too, praised the Indian. “Age truly really is not even a number for this guy. He is a champion, he is a warrior, I am forever grateful to you and your amazing team, thank you mate!” said Ebden.
It was such a hard-fought battle at the Rod Laver arena that the contest featured only one break of serve when Vavassori dropped his serve at love in game 11 of the second set. There were not many break points on offer either.
The second seeds had break points in successive games at the beginning of the contest. However, the Italians saved both to stay on even terms. Ebden’s serve came under pressure in game 11 in which he faced a break point, but, after playing deuce points, the Australian closed it out with an ace.
In the tie-breaker, Bolelli’s serve was broken twice as the second seeds zoomed to a 5-0 lead without losing a point on their serve.
Vavassori too lost his serve to hand their rivals six set points. They converted the first, Ebden finding a forehand winner down the line.
The second set too was tight and there was no break of serve until Vavassori lost his at love under pressure. Ebden came serving for the championship and they closed the match with Bopanna executing a fierce overhead smash on a return from his rivals.
Written with PTI inputs
