Sport is never about revenge. Then it would not be sport. But then, it is also about winning when it matters and setting the record straight. And the best part about sport is it always gives you an opportunity. For Rohan Bopanna, there is one such opportunity tonight as he steps on court for the US Open Men’s doubles final against familiar foe and friend Rajeev Ram. Ram and Joe Salisbury are the defending champions and are seeded third in this edition of the Slam. In 2022, they won the title as the top seeds. Clearly, they have the pedigree. For Bopanna and Matt Ebden, it is a tall ask. Seeded sixth, the duo have already exceeded expectations to an extent. None of us would have imagined Bopanna, at 43 years 6 months, to make the US Open Men’s Doubles final. And yet, he has. And that’s what gives him the opportunity to avenge what happened in Rio in 2016, when he and Sania Mirza were up against Rajeev Ram and Venus Williams.
Bopanna and Mirza were sublime in the first set, and won it 6-2. In the second set too, they were up a break and Bopanna was serving to consolidate the lead 3-1. That’s when he double-faulted twice, and all started going downhill for India. Williams stepped up her game by a few notches and Bopanna and Mirza went down 3-10 in the tie break against Ram and Williams, losing the coveted Olympic medal in the process. Ask them, and it still hurts. This is the one medal that neither has won in their careers, and as Sania said, “it could have completed what has otherwise been a very satisfying career.” One can assume Rohan would also have something similar to say.
That’s what brings me to the US Open final tonight against Ram and Salisbury. Bopanna has an opportunity in a Grand Slam final to avenge his loss. And in the process, create history by becoming the oldest US Open Men’s doubles champion. Despite all the quality that Ram and Salisbury have shown, it is difficult to look beyond Bopanna and Ebden. Saving multiple set points in the quarter final, to playing some outstanding tennis in the semi-final, they have scripted their own little fairytale already. Bopanna has already played the Australian Open Mixed Doubles Final with Sania earlier this year, and at 43, is now in his second Grand Slam final for the year.
Explaining this brilliant run, he had said, “Playing multiple semi-finals and finals always makes you feel good. But the most important thing is I am absolutely loving competing. In fact, that’s the thing I am most looking forward to. With Matt, the partnership is working extremely well and needless to say, his record speaks for itself both in singles and doubles. We have won a few very close matches and that tells you the pairing is working.”
Speaking on consistency, he had said, “It is also about managing the body. At 43, the body takes much more time to recover and it is hugely important to be able to manage the recovery. Last season, I did not have a physio with me on tour and this is one thing I have addressed this season. I have my own physio, Rebecca from Belgium, who travels with me at the moment and her presence has made a huge difference.”
As he steps on court tonight in an attempt to create history, he will be greeted by serious Indian support in the stands in NYC. And this, as he has mentioned repeatedly, gets him going. “For me, it is about carrying the Indian flag to these big competitions,” he once argued. “When you read Rohan Bopanna, India, it inspires a youngster back home to take up the sport. Whichever sport he or she plays, it will help us become a better society and when one of your own does well, it is easier to identify. It is about leaving behind a legacy and if people back home feel encouraged to take up the sport seeing me, there can be no better feeling.”
With a win tonight, a few more will surely feel inspired and pick up a tennis racket. And Rohan can also move past the 2016 Rio disappointment.
Also Read: Ageless Brilliance – Rohan Bopanna’s Remarkable Journey to US Open Doubles Final