Rohan Bopanna tried for two decades, and at the age of 43 years and 330 days, the time had come this weekend: the Indian tennis player won his first Grand Slam tournament with his doubles partner Matthew Ebden at the Australian Open. But the much greater success for him was something else: from Monday onwards he will be number one in the doubles world rankings for the first time.
Nobody before him was older. “This is the best moment of my career. My head feels like it’s going to explode,” said Bopanna, who hopes his success will have a positive impact on the sport in his homeland. “Tennis in India needs this. We don’t have many players who make it to the top.”
I wanted to end my career
The fact that Bopanna is playing the best tennis of his career at his age, as he himself says, is mainly because he has found a way to get his knee problems under control. “The biggest reason for this is how I treat my body,” says Bopanna, who claims he no longer has any cartilage in his knees.
They would have worn out over the years, causing great pain. Bopanna already wanted to end his career. Then he discovered yoga and changed his training and regeneration: more stretching exercises and more targeted building of the muscle groups around his knee are now included. And suddenly it worked again.
He has only been playing together with his partner Ebden from Australia, who is also 37 years old, since last year. It was a connection that worked immediately. They first won the tournament in Indian Wells together. Shortly thereafter, Bopanna became the oldest player to ever win a game at the ATP Finals.
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At the Australian Open, both only lost two sets during the tournament. In the final, Ebden and Bopanna defeated the two Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7:6 (7:0), 7:5. It shouldn’t have been the end. “As long as I’m having fun and playing my best tennis, I don’t see any reason to stop,” says Bopanna.
