On Saturday, Indian player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian counterpart and partner Matthew Ebden created history as they came out on top in the finals of the Men’s double of the Miami Open. The pair defeated American Austin Krajicek and Croatia’s Ivan Dodic by 6-7, 6-3,10-16 to take the Miami Open title.
Thus, in the process Bopanna became the oldest tennis player to a win Masters title on the ATP circuit at the age of 44 and also broke his own record which he held after winning the Indian wells last year.
Bopanna’s Previous Record
Last year at Indian Wells, Rohan Bopanna became the oldest tennis player at the age of 43 to win an ATP Masters and also captured the Indian Wells title in the process with his Australian teammate and partner Matthew Ebden. The pair competed in the finals against the Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and the Brit Neal Skupski and defeated them by 6-3, 2-6 and 10-8 in the finals of the Indian Wells at California, United States.
Rohan Bopanna stated that ‘I’ve been, over the years, coming here and seeing all these guys win for so many years. I’m really happy that Matt and I were able to do this and get this title here. It’s been some tough matches, close matches. Today we played against one of the best teams out there. Really happy that we got the trophy’.
While Matthew Ebden stated that ‘they are working on their game. Even at their ages they are still improving, still gelling as a pair, their execution, their chemistry’.
Rohan Bopanna passed the record of his former Canadian partner Daniel Nestor to become the the oldest player to reach the finals of the ATP Masters 1000 and the oldest tennis player to achieve such a prestigious award at this age.
Bopanna and Ebden’s Slow and Steady Start
The Indo-Aussie pair had a bad start in the game as they lost the first set to the pair of Krantic and Dodic by 6-7. However, after the sloppy start the pair focused on their game and kept their nerves cool.
In the second set, the pair of Bopanna-Ebden made a strong comback against the pair of Krantic-Dodic by sealing a win of 6-3.
However, in the third and the most crucial set they totally dominated their opponents and gathered a score of 10-6 to seal the win and the title in their favour.
Bopanna and Ebden on their Win
Rohan Bopanna’s Australian teammate Matthew Ebden praised their opponents and stated ‘Last time we played them it was similar, it’s a bit of a see-saw. They return so well, make so many balls and we missed one or two shots when we were up [at the end of] the first set. They played a great tie-break, and then we just reset.
Ebden further stated that ‘We just tried a different method. We just relaxed and let ourselves play, and just saw what happened. It turned out well.’
After winning the Miami title, Rohan Bopanna stated that ‘It’s amazing. As long as they are doing well in these big events, it’s what they play for. He wants to do well in the Masters 1000s and the Grand Slams. It’s good to keep that record going and keep giving everyone else a run for their money.’
Bopanna Ties Record with Paes and Bhupathi
Rohan Bopanna became the oldest Grand Slam Champion at the age of 44 and made his 17th appearance at this edition of the Australian Open. He also became the third Indian tennis player in the Open Era to win a Men’s Doubles Title alongside Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes.
It was Bopanna’s second Gland Slam win in his career after winning his first Grand Slam win in 2017 which came in from the French Open and his first in Men’s doubles.
