He’s done it! Rohan Bopanna became the oldest men’s doubles Grand Slam champion in the Open Era (from 1968). The 43-year-old has been on a record-breaking spree. The Indian ace became the oldest World No. 1 in tennis history in just a couple of days and has now created one of the greatest records in tennis history.
Playing in his maiden Australian Open Final, he beat Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in straight sets 7-6(0), 7-5 to win their first Grand Slam title together.
First set
The first set started great for the No. 2 seeds. The unseeded Italian duo, especially Andrea Vavassori, was under immense pressure. Despite battling nerves, the Italians continued to hold, not letting Bopanna or Ebden get a sniff.
The No. 2 seeds were serving exceptionally well throughout the set, but Ebden faced a sudden drop in his level at 5-5. He managed to save two break points and keep them in the first set.
With incredible serving from both, the first set went into the tiebreaker. After a shaky couple of games, Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden took their game to the next level in the tiebreaker. Producing scintillating tennis, they won the set by bagelling the Italians in the tiebreaker.
Second set
Much like the first set, the serving was on point from both sides. It seemed like we were watching John Isner play Ivo Karlovic. Up until 5-5, neither team had either faced or had a look at a break point.
Similar to the first set, it seemed like the second set would also go to a tiebreaker. But the second seed had other things in mind. It was Vavassori again who couldn’t handle the pressure. Missing his spots and double-faulting to give them a chance to break.
Then, Matthew Ebden served the match out to win 7-6(0), 7-5.
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