India's star Tennis player Rohan Bopanna has scripted history by becoming the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion when he and his Australian partner Matt Ebden won the men's doubles title at the BNP Paribas Open.
The 43-year-old Bopanna along with his partner Ebden, defeated top-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neil Skupski of Britain 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the final clash on Saturday. Interestingly, it was Bopanna's 10th ATP Masters 1000 final. With the victory, Bopanna left behind Canadian Daniel Nestor, who won the 2015 Cincinnati Masters at the age of 42.
"Truly special. It's called Tennis Paradise for a reason," said Bopanna, who was playing
"I've been, over the years, coming here and seeing all these guys win for so many years. I'm really happy that Matt and I were able to do this and get this title.
"It's been some tough matches, close matches. Today we played against one of the best teams out there. Really happy that we got the trophy."
Bopanna spoke about surpassing Daniel.
"I spoke to Danny Nestor and I told him sorry I'm going to beat his record," he joked. "Winning the title, that stays with me, so really happy with that."
It was the 43-year-old's fifth Masters 1000 doubles title and first since he won in Monte Carlo in 2017. This was the third final of the year for the Indo-Australian duo. He now holds 24 tour-level trophies in his cabinet.
Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna has so far won a total of 24 titles at the tour level. The pair of Bopanna and Matt Ebden defeated defending champions and two-time title winners John Isner and Jack Sock in the semifinals. Earlier in the quarterfinals, they defeated Canada's Felix Auger Alissime and Denis Shapovalov. The Indo-Australian pair had defeated Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez in their opening match. Bopanna, a former world number three, has climbed four places to 11th in the ATP doubles rankings with the win.
