New Delhi: The Indian tennis pair of Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan clinched the doubles title in the Tata Open Maharashtra 2022 finals at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune, on Sunday, February 06, 2022.
The Indians defeated Australian players Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith 6-7 (10-12), 6-3, 10-6 to claim their second ATP title together. The match was Bopanna’s 21st doubles title and the second title in Pune after winning with Divij Sharan in 2019.
“A lot is to do with experience, which you bring in, years and years of experience, and the biggest thing is my body is feeling very good at the moment. I did a lot of yoga which has helped me tremendously. It has made a difference, and that shows as long as I am playing matches, competing, and doing something that is physically appealing,” the former World No. 3 said after the match.
The Indian duo, who kickstarted the year with their maiden ATP title in Adelaide in January, started well and put themselves ahead at 5-4 despite stiff challenges from the top seeds. However, the Aussie pair took the set into the tie-breaker and wrapped up the opening set that lasted close to an hour.
Veteran doubles player Bopanna and his young energetic partner Ramkumar fought back with a 4-2 lead in the second set. They further capitalised the momentum and levelled the scores. Having titled the momentum in their favour, Bopanna and Ramkumar held their nerves to take charge in the crucial decider and secured a win in the grueling encounter.
Talking about winning two titles this year, Bopanna added, “Both are extremely special, but anytime you win a title at home, it’s a lot more special. The crowd made a lot of difference yesterday and today, and you get that extra boost, that extra energy. Even if your legs feel tired, that’s the energy you need to hit the serve, especially for me. Winning in India is always special, especially with an Indian partner is truly great.”
“I have to work on a few things on the court and just keep competing at this level as much as I can. It will improve my game and automatically the ranking,” the 27-year-old Ramkumar said.
(Avya Mathur)
