Coffee connoisseur Rohan Bopanna credited the special Indian blends he consumes on Tour for his success after the 43-year-old became the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion by winning the men’s doubles title on Saturday.
Bopanna and Matthew Ebden of Australia beat the top-ranked pair of Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and Briton Neal Skupski 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 to claim their second title together and first of the season.
“Truly special. It’s called Tennis Paradise for a reason. I’m really happy that Matt and I were able to do this and get this title here,” Bopanna said.
Former doubles world No.3 Bopanna, whose family owns a coffee plantation in Coorg, said the drink was the secret of his success. “It’s the Indian coffee that I keep having when travelling. That’s the secret,” Bopanna said.
Bopanna beat the record held by former doubles partner Daniel Nestor. “I spoke to Danny and told him ‘sorry, I’m going to beat your record’”
In men’s singles, top seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Italy’s Jannik Sinner 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to set up a final showdown with Russian Daniil Medvedev who got past Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 7-6(7-4).
