Melbourne: Rohan Bopanna capped off a sensational fortnight at Melbourne with a maiden Grand Slam title in men’s doubles. While scripting his best-ever run at Australian Open, he also assured himself the world No. 1 ranking, became the oldest player to win a Grand Slam for the first time, and was shortlisted for the Padma Shri.
Bopanna’s feat left compatriots and former colleagues Sania Mirza and Somdev Devvarman, watching from the commentary box alongside Purav Raja, “speechless”.
Partnering Australia’s Matthew Ebden, Bopanna beat Italy’s Simone Boleli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday for his second career major.
Speaking on Sony Sports Network, Sania Mirza was all praise for Bopanna.
“We said this at the beginning of last week, that what if he becomes the men’s No.1 in the world and wins the men’s doubles title? He has done it and we were speechless. We could not be more proud, as an Indian, but more as a friend,” said Sania, who played her final Slam match last year at the Rod Laver Arena alongside Bopanna in mixed doubles.
Somdev, former India No. 1 in singles, hailed the sacrifices Bopanna made in his two-decade-long career. “Enough good things cannot be said about this man. This is the culmination of the sacrifices that he has put in,” he said.
Bopanna is now only the third Indian man to win a doubles major in the Open Era after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who have won eight and four Slams, respectively, of which three came as a team. He is also the first Indian to win a men’s doubles title at Melbourne Park since 2012, the last being Paes, partnering with Radek Stepanek.
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