The Indian
Rohan Bopanna
became on Saturday the oldest tennis player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam men's doubles competition:
at 43 years and 329 days
, he won the title of the specialty at the Australian Open in pairs with the Australian
Matthew Ebden
after beating the Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final by 7-6 (7-0) and 7-5 at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
“Without a doubt,
this is the best moment of my career
.
There are so many thoughts that go through my head, it's about to explode with so many things
," said Bopanna, who highlighted the chemistry he achieved with Ebden as key to this achievement:
"There is no better player to do this with.
“After the year we had in 2023, it is great to continue and start like this this year, winning a Grand Slam
. ”
The Australian picked up the glove and was full of praise for the man who has been with him on the courts since January 2023.
“It was an incredible tournament.
Thanks to my amazing partner.
He is 43 years old and this is his first Grand Slam men's doubles title
.
Age is not even a number for him.
He is young at heart.
He is a champion and a warrior.
“He fought hard by my side last year and I will be eternally grateful to him, his incredible team and his family
,” he highlighted.
In the final this Saturday,
Bopanna and Ebden dominated the game
with the serve throughout the match, which lasted one hour and 40 minutes, winning 80% of the points with their first serve and without even granting a break opportunity to his adversaries.
Doubles delight 🏆🏆@rohanbopanna 🇮🇳 and @mattebden 🇦🇺 defeat Italian duo Bolelli/Vavassori 🇮🇹 7-6(0) 7-5.
@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/WaR2KXF9kp
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2024
The Indian and the Australian displayed their best tennis in the crucial moments of the duel.
They showed great depth in the return to win the first set tie break
(this was the seventh tie break they played in the tournament and they won all of them) and in the second they got the crucial break in the eleventh game.
Thus, the second seeds of the competition were left with a victory that they celebrated by bumping their chests, a celebration that was immortalized by the American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan.
Bopanna was able to remove the thorn and celebrate a Grand Slam title
after having lost the US Open finals in 2010 (in a pair with the Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi) and in 2023 (with Ebden).
Thus, he became the third Indian man in the Open Era to win a major tournament in the men's doubles: the previous ones had been Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
On the verge of 44 years old, Rohan Bopanna celebrated his first Grand Slam title this Saturday.
Photo: Mast Irham / EFE / EPA.
As if this were not enough,
on Monday his name will appear in first place in the ATP specialty ranking.
In this way, Bopanna, who has been a professional for 21 seasons, will become the oldest number one in history.
For Ebden, 36, what he won this Saturday was his second Grand Slam title: he had already been champion at Wimbledon 2022 partnering with his compatriot Max Purcell.
The victory alongside Bopanna also made him the 28th local tennis player to win the Australian Open men's doubles crown.