Rohan Bopanna and Matt Ebden, his doubles partner, capped a brilliant year by bowing out at the semi-final stage of the ATP World Tour Finals. On Saturday, the duo, ranked No. 3, lost 5-7, 4-6 to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the No. 5 seeds. Even though the result may be disappointing for Indian tennis fans, the duo of Bopanna and Ebden have enjoyed a stellar year.
At over 43, Bopanna, currently the oldest player on the circuit, has been enjoying his tennis. “I repeat, I am 43, that is Level 43,” he told RevSportz. “This has been a brilliant year for me, and to finish on a high does give me happiness.”
For a man who spends almost 35 weeks away from home and lives out of suitcases, he had his wife and daughter for company in Turin this week. To be sure, Bopanna had already peaked this year, finishing with an individual year-end ranking of No. 8 in doubles. “I mean, I had not imagined at the start of the year I was going to be at this level,” said Bopanna recently.
He had begun 2023 on an uncertain note. There was hesitancy in the first few weeks which vanished once he and Ebden bonded. “I have played with so many partners in my career over two decades,” said Bopanna. “To do so well in 2023, which I repeat is my best year, gives me happiness.”
The tall Coorgi insisted he was aiming for glory in the Paris Olympics. Based on his year-end ranking and how he has made plenty of ranking points in the last five months, Bopanna is confident of making the cut for the Paris Olympics. “To have missed the Tokyo Olympics was sad, but I am now looking forward to Paris,” he said. “I have been taking great care of my body, my fitness. The key is to train hard, enjoy my tennis, which I am doing.”
Even though he has retired from Davis Cup duty, the zeal to do well in the Asian Games saw Bopanna grab headlines in the mixed doubles, where he and Rutuja Bhosale won gold. “There is already speculation over my partner for the Paris Olympics,” Bopanna said light-heartedly.
Way back in 1997, when “The Indian Express”, as Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi came to be known, made it to the finals of the ATP World Doubles Championship, it was historic. Bopanna has been unable to find a good Indian partner to match his level, though a few years ago, he and Divij Sharan had done well in the 2018 Asian Games.
Bopanna missed two Asian Games after the Doha fiasco in 2006. “The kind of fighting which went on at that time in the team was awful,” he told this writer. Today, Bopanna is in a happy frame of mind. There was no pressure on him to do well in the year-end event, since it made no difference to the individual doubles ranking.
As a mentor, Bopanna is helping youngsters, which was evident in the Hangzhou Asian Games. “I think if my experience can help people in India to learn the nuances of doubles, I am more than happy,” he said.
Bopanna will be back in 2024 with the warm-up events before the Australian Open. “Yes, Matt and I are playing together,” he said. “We had a great run in 2023, won two titles and made five finals.”