India's Rohan Bopanna and Australia's Matthew Ebden Saturday clinched the Australian Open 2024 men's doubles title after winning the final against Italy's Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the tournament's final in Melbourne.
During the match being played at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena, Bopanna and Ebden secured a 7-6 (7/0), 7-5 victory against the Italian player, making the former the oldest number one in men's doubles history at the age of 43.
Today's win, the duo's inaugural title as a team, is in fact Bopanna's first victory in men's doubles after participating in 60 previous Grand Slams — an unprecedented record for the most attempts before securing a win.
The 43-year-old will officially attain the title of the oldest number one in men's doubles when the new rankings are released next week.
Bopanna had previously clinched a Grand Slam victory at the 2017 French Open in mixed doubles, partnering with Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski.
For Ebden, this marked his second men's doubles title, with his first win occurring at Wimbledon in 2022 alongside fellow Australian Max Purcell.
The eagerly anticipated trophy for the Indian tennis player arrived in his best-ever performance at Melbourne Park. In his 16 previous appearances at the Australian Open, Bopanna's highest achievement was reaching the third round, a feat he accomplished six times, the last being in 2018, before facing a series of consecutive first-round defeats, including one with Ebden in 2023.
Despite the result showing a straight-set win for the second-seeded pair, it was a hard-fought battle that included only one break of serve when Bopanna and Ebden broke Vavassori at love in the 11th game of the second set.
Bopanna and Ebden sought an early breakthrough in the contest against an unseeded pair, creating breakpoint opportunities in consecutive games. However, they were denied on both occasions as the opening set headed to a tiebreak.
The Indo-Aussie pair never lost a set decider throughout the fortnight, which included two super tiebreaks. This record remained intact as they won all seven points on offer to take a one-set lead.
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