Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden came out on top in a historic victory in the men’s doubles final of the Miami Open, on Saturday. The Indo-Australian pair defeated Croatia’s Ivan Dodic and American Austin Krajicek 6-7 6-3 10-16 to clinch the title.
The win also saw Bopanna break his own record, becoming the oldest man to win a Masters 1000 title on the ATP circuit at the age of 44. He made the record last year by winning the Indian Wells title. He also became the second Indian since Leander Paes to reach the finals of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
Bopanna and Ebden had a shaky start to the game as they lost the first set by 6-7. But they kept their calm and staged a comeback in the second set, bagging a 6-3 win. Then in the third set, they were at their dominating best in the tie-breaker, winning 10-6.
Bopanna and Ebden had defeated Spain’s Marcel Granollers and Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in the semi-final, winning 6-1 6-4. Meanwhile, they are the reigning Australian Open champion, after they beat Italy’s Simone Bolelli, Andrea Vavassori in straight sets, 7-6 7-5, in a thrilling final in Melbourne.
It was Bopanna second career grand Slam title and his first in men’s doubles. Meanwhile, his previous Grand Slam win came in mixed doubles at the 2017 French Open.
Bopanna-Ebden will be looking to be in top form for the upcoming French Open, which is scheduled to begin on May 20. They will be favourites to bag the men’s doubles title, but will need to be wary of their opponents.
In both their finals at the Australian Open and Miami Open, the pair were at their devastating best. Although in the latter, they started off slowly, but once they got into the game, there was no stopping them.
