Bhubaneswar: Rohan Bopanna, India’s grand old man of tennis, created history as he became the oldest-ever player to win a Grand Slam after he and Matthew Ebden won men’s doubles final in the Australian Open on Saturday.
The 43-year-old Bopanna and Ebden beat Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(0), 7-5 in the final of the Australian Open played at the Rod Laver Arena. It was also Bopanna’s second Grand Slam title and first in the category, having achieved it just days after he was assured of being the new world No 1 in ATP men’s doubles.
The championship clash saw a spectacle of skill and determination, with both pairs fighting a tense battle for supremacy. Bolelli and Vavassori launched a relentless offensive from the start, but Bopanna and Ebden remained composed and made a resilient comeback.
As the first set reached a climax, culminating in a gripping tiebreaker where Bopanna and Ebden asserted their dominance to claim victory with a scoreline of 6 (7)- 6 (0). Undeterred, Bolelli and Vavassori regrouped, unleashing a barrage of aggressive shots in a spirited bid to turn the tide.
However, Bopanna and Ebden maintained their composure, methodically seizing control of the match. Each game was a rollercoaster ride of fortunes with both players showing a matching play. The Indian-Australian ultimately secured a hard-fought triumph with a scoreline of 7-5 in the second set.
Bopanna is the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam title after Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza and is now on the list of the star tennis players of the country.
