Australian Open 2024: Rohan Bopanna wins men’s doubles final; becomes world’s oldest gram slam winner
Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna created history on Saturday as he became the oldest grand slam winner after teaming up with his Australian partner Matthew Ebden to defeat the Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the finals of the Australian Open 2024. This is Rohan Bopanna’s second grand slam title after the 2017 French Open win with his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski in mixed doubles.
With a grand slam title at the age of 43, Rohan Bopanna surpassed the record of Australian tennis champion Ken Rosewall, who won a grand slam at 37.
The game was a perfect nail-biting finale where both pairs displayed some world-class skills to dominate each other. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori were attacking from the first serve but Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden kept their cool and fought back against the early lead to the Italian duo.
The first set came close and finally went for the tiebreaker where Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden dominated completely and won the first set 6 (7)- 6 (0). Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori were now fighting for survival and the duo played in a similar way to smash some of the most aggressive stokes in the Australian Open.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden again looked calmer and focused on their game to slowly take control of the game. The numbers were changing with every game, but in the end, the Indian-Australian duo managed to clinch the game with 7-5 in the second set.
‘Playing one of my best tennis’
Ahead of the Saturday final, Rohan Bopanna shared how he is enjoying the game at the current stage of his career. “Extremely happy to be playing tennis, especially playing it pain-free. Playing as the World No.1. I was playing freely and completely enjoying myself out on the court. Overall, I am enjoying myself being where I am today and playing one of my best tennis in a couple of decades,” Sony Sports quoted Bopanna as saying.
While revealing his preparations for the big day, Rohan Bopanna said his focus is on recovering more and he is making sure that his body gets enough rest before the final game.
“I’m actually training less and making sure I recover a lot more. The recovery is happening at least two hours a day. I am making sure I take the ice bath, and deep tissue massages which help me recover and come back again next day,” he concluded.
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Published: 27 Jan 2024, 05:59 PM IST
