Rohan Bopanna (left) and Matthew Ebden celebrate with the trophy after Australian Open victory.© AFP
India’s Rohan Bopanna celebrated becoming the oldest number one in men’s doubles history by winning the Australian Open with his partner Matthew Ebden on Saturday. The second seeds claimed a 7-6 (7/0), 7-5 victory over unseeded Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori on Rod Laver Arena. It was their maiden title as a team and Bopanna’s first in men’s doubles after 60 previous Grand Slams — a record for most attempts before winning. The 43-year-old will become the oldest number one in men’s doubles history when the new rankings are released next week.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, the winners of Australian Open 2024 men’s doubles final bagged a total sum of dollar 730,000 Australian dollars, which is around 3 crores 98 lakh Indian rupees.
In a high-quality game of tennis, second seeded Bopanna and Ebden won in straight sets in the final that lasted one hour and 39 minutes. The Indian-Australian pair dominated on serve throughout the match, winning 80 per cent (40/50) of games with their first delivery and not facing a break point to top off a fantastic week.
Only the iconic Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won Major titles for India in men’s tennis while trailblazer Sania Mirza did it in women’s tennis.
For Bopanna it is his second Grand Slam title, having won the French Open mixed doubles with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski in 2017.
At 43, Bopanna also became the oldest Grand Slam champion in men’s tennis. He bettered the record of Jean-Julien Rojer who, at age of 40, had lifted the French Open men’s doubles trophy in 2022 with Marcelo Arevola.
(With PTI Inputs)
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