Bengaluru: It’s taken him seven long years to erase the memories of the heartbreaking 6(5)-7, 6(4)-7 loss to the famed Bryan brothers in the final of the US Open. A Grand Slam title was a touching distance away that day. It just wasn’t Rohan Bopanna’s time then.
But there was no mistaking the clock when the opportunity came knocking again.
Pakistan’s Aisam Qureshi was replaced by Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and it was the mixed doubles final in Paris. Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Gronefeld stood on the other side of the net in place of the American doubles phenomenon.
Bopanna himself, sporting a beard ever so slightly peppered with grey, looked a much changed man. A boyhood dream was ticked off the bucket list as the Indo-Canadian duo clinched their maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open on Thursday afternoon.
At the age of 37, the time was ripe and right for the Indian star! “This was a personal goal. It’s not the question of whether I got it now or earlier. I’m probably playing my best tennis (now) and I’ve matured over the years about how to play and handle situations,” said Bopanna to this newspaper following the triumph.
“I have become a Grand Slam champion and it’s more than special. For me, it’s the right time to win the first Slam,” remarked Bopanna who became only the fourth Indian to ever win a Grand Slam title.
“It’s still sinking in,” the Kodava added mere hours after his 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 win.
“During match point the thought was to be aggressive. I told my partner to keep playing the same way we had done to get to that point. She hit an unbelievable return on Robert’s serve for that point and then the momentum was with us. It was a big moment,” he added explaining the mindset during the super tiebreaker.
Bopanna’s remarkable year
For Bopanna, it’s been a remarkable year so far. Following a less than ideal 2016 campaign, the Bengaluru star opened the season with the Chennai Open crown with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan before winning the Monte Carlo Masters and following it up with a maiden Slam at the Roland Garros.
Keeping in mind that there is still more than half the season left to play, this could very well be the most successful season of his career by some distance. There is little doubt that his persistence and ability to adapt to the changing game has been key to this purple patch. But it’s his decision to partner with Pablo Cuevas that looks the master stroke.
“One of the main reasons (for this season’s success) is constantly going out there and working hard. Making sure of doing the right things with the coach, trainer and also on the clay surface. I have changed my style little bit. I wasn’t volleying all the time, I was mixing it which I think helped my game,” revealed the big server.
“Especially this year playing with Cuevas, I learned a lot about how to handle situations better and improve my ground strokes. I was using my forehand as weapon which allowed me to bring something new to my game. That gave me an option of serving and volleying or staying back and hitting the ground strokes. It really helped me transition from what I was last year to this year,” he stressed.
There are still more mountains to climb this season besides the future ones, and Bopanna seems geared up and ready for it.
