One has to celebrate the spirit of Rohan Bopanna, the lone soldier ploughing through the tennis battlefield for India in doubles with Matt Ebden for company. As the duo head into ATP Tour finals to be held in Turin, Italy, from November 10 to 17, the 44-year-old Indian is excited as well as happy at how he has performed this year. Not doing well in the Paris 2024 Olympics is something that he would like to forget, but as a pure doubles’ exponent — a dying breed — the tall Coorgi has kept the Indian flag flying.
“Making it to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin is a huge milestone for (Matt) Ebden and me. It’s a testament to the consistent effort we’ve put in throughout 2024, navigating both challenging matches and unforgettable victories. The ATP Finals are the culmination of the season, and it’s where every player wants to be. Being here is a validation of our hard work, and we’re incredibly excited to represent our best doubles game against the finest players of the year,” Bopanna told RevSportz.
The Indian-Aussie duo has come up with exciting results in what can be termed as a world tour of sorts in tennis. Starting with a massive Grand Slam win in Melbourne at the Australian Open, Bopanna showed fire. It was more than a flicker, where he and the local hero triumphed. At a time when Indian tennis administrators have been caught playing games and dragged to the Delhi High Court for poor governance by Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja, a champion like Bopanna has not let anything distract him. No, not even when the All India Tennis Association (AITA) delayed sending his entry to the Paris 2024 Olympics organisers, which had been frustrating for him. He had earned his place through a Top 10 finish for Paris, yet the AITA behaved as if it was doing him some favour by allowing Sriram Balaji to partner him. Bopanna kept quiet at that time, with the usual sarcastic reply: “What’s new!” He knows the AITA inside out and has nothing to do with them any longer as he stopped playing the Davis Cup in 2023 and Paris was his last Olympics. Of course, his one-time senior partner Mahesh Bhupathi feels the way Bopanna is playing, he can push even till LA 2028.
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“Reflecting on 2024, it’s been a truly special season. We’ve had a solid run with some fantastic results. This season wasn’t without its challenges, of course. But that’s where the true satisfaction comes from, overcoming those obstacles and finding ways to elevate our play as a team. We’re proud of the consistency we’ve shown across different tournaments, and it’s clear that when we bring our best on the court, we’re a tough pair to beat,” said Bopanna. It is this zest and zeal which tennis fans want to see from the ATP Finals, where the singles and doubles field is so rich. If Bopanna can show the same energy with Ebden and pull off a title-win, it would be phenomenal.
“Turin is a special stage for both of us. We want to bring our best here and give it everything we’ve got, knowing we’re in the company of the season’s best. Every match is going to demand high intensity and mental focus, but that’s what makes this such a thrilling competition. There’s nothing quite like the energy and the stakes of the ATP Finals,” said Bopanna. He was, initially, reluctant to do media interviews, as he does not want any distraction. But then, he loves to speak his heart out with people close to him.
At age 44, which champion Bopanna calls ‘Level 44,’ he is a legend in every sense. Not only does he wish to continue playing tennis in 2025, he is awaiting the outcome from Turin. It will decide who his partner will be in 2025. “I will focus on the coming week and let you know about my partner for the next year. Let me see how the results are now in Turin,” he stressed.