Rohan Bopanna holds his trophy after he and companion Matthew Ebden gained the males’s doubles last at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Australia, on January 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Lavishing superlatives is a craze in modern-day sport. But for Rohan Bopanna, it doesn’t really feel exaggerated, for profitable your maiden males’s doubles Grand Slam title when you find yourself about to show 44 could be surreal.
“It’s a dream come true,” Bopanna stated throughout a digital media interplay on Sunday. “When I was on the court talking [after the win], there were so many thoughts, it was like my mind was about to explode. All those years of struggle, sacrifice… it felt like the whole weight was off my shoulders. It’s an incredible and magical moment.”
Bopanna shouldn’t be new to Slam success, having clinched the 2017 French Open combined doubles title with Gabriela Dabrowski. But combined doubles is a format that doesn’t exist outdoors the Majors and quadrennial occasions like Olympics and Asian Games. There are additionally no separate rankings. No surprise Bopanna ranked his newest success in males’s doubles larger.
Simply the greatest
“This feels extra special. When I was playing with Aisam [ul-Haq Qureshi, in 2010] and we decided to focus on doubles and make it a career, men’s doubles was the target. Along came the success in 2017, but to win in men’s doubles was always the dream. So without a doubt, this is the best moment in my tennis journey.”
The previous fortnight marked a number of firsts for Bopanna. He made it previous the third spherical in doubles just for the first time in 17 visits to Australia. Then got here the assurance of the World No.1 rating, the Padma Shri award from the Indian authorities and finally the Australian Open crown. But to his credit score, he didn’t let the feelings that accompany such a sequence of highs overwhelm him.
Doing it proper
“What really helped was that I enjoyed every single day, [but at the same time], no matter what, I ensured I got proper sleep, did proper recovery and was aware what the [final] goal was.
“After I got past the third round, everything started getting better. I knew that with Matt [Ebden] and me playing so well in Adelaide [finalists], if we continued the form, we genuinely had a chance to win the title. That came true and I don’t think it would have happened if not for a partner like Matt, who understood how it is being on the big stage and brought the best tennis when really needed.
“Our biggest strength was being calm together. Even in the first match, when we were 0-5 down, there was no doubt at any moment that the match was slipping away. After playing with so many partners over so many years, this is my most consistent partnership in terms of results at Slams,” added Bopanna, who now has three straight semifinal or higher finishes with Ebden in the final three Majors.
