His eyes glistened when he saw a loopy ball in the air, and every bone and sinew of his body came in unison to produce a throbbing overhead smash – a winning smash oozing with unfiltered jubilance – before Rohan Bopanna fell to the ground, soaking in the greatness of what he has just achieved. It was his first grand slam title in seven years. If not for the etiquettes, Bopanna perhaps would have loved to stay in the supine state for a long time, embracing the hallowed turf of Rod Laver Arena where he has just become the oldest man to win the grand slam title. It wasn’t an easy match by any stretch of the imagination, but Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden raised the level when it really mattered, to overcome the enterprising challenge of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
When Bopanna made his grand slam debut in 2006, Orkut was still the hottest thing on the internet, Bluetooth the primary medium for exchanging music, and Nokia an unputdownable behemoth. More than two decades later none of these technologies hold any relevance to the world, but Bopanna is still going strong: If that’s not the mark of immense longevity, then what could be? In fact, his relevance and stature reached the zenith this month, when he became the oldest grand slam winner, at 43. “I think it’s been a dream. To play this sport for twenty years and to be able to achieve it is extremely humbling. At the end of the day when you change your limitation and make it an opportunity, that is when you really make a difference. Perseverance has always been my biggest strength,” said Bopanna to ATP Tour.
Bopanna’s maiden grand slam title came in 2017, after more than a decade of toils, when he teamed up with Gabriela Dabrowski, to win the mixed doubles title at Roland Garros. Seven years later, he finally got his second major, sealed by an overhead smash. Bopanna, throughout the tournament, showed great focus and flexibility at the net that defied his age, twisting and twirling sharply to the motion of the ball coming at lightning-quick speed, and putting it away. His game has rarely looked as refined. His serves have undergone a significant improvement, and his reflexes are quicker than it has ever been — all this at the wrong end of 40. As Bopanna succinctly put up, “You got to know how old I am. But I changed it a little bit. I like to say I’m at level 43, not age 43”.
Bopanna credits his agility to yoga, which he started during the pandemic. “And I think yoga in a way not only strengthened my legs, my body, but also, I think made me calmer on the tennis court. It kind of helped me focus a lot better. I don’t feel rushed on the tennis court. I think clearly there. I think that in a big way has made that change,” Bopanna had revealed after winning the quarter-final.
Early in his career, Bopanna had a dalliance with legends like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, but that never bloomed as he would have expected. Yet the legends of Indian tennis have great trust in his ability. After Bopanna won the title, Bhupathi wrote how he predicted this almost a year ago, much to the disbelief of Bopanna. “While everyone thinks it’s special because you’re 44, what stands out is that you did it your way, on your own terms no matter how long it took and kept out all random noise around you out. Just to be clear I called this nine months ago and I remember your reaction,” wrote Bhupathi on Instagram.
It was his union with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi that shot him to prominence. In 2010, the ‘Indo-Pak’ express, as it was famously known, reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and finished as runners-up in the US Open. But his most successful partnership is arguably the current one, with Ebden. The duo enjoyed a great spell last year, but it was also marked by their inability to cross the final hurdle. Before tasting their first major success together, Bopanna and Ebden made it to the U.S Open final, four Masters finals, winning the Indian Wells in Miami. Even in the final at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, they started off well but failed to capitalise on the early break points, and faced one themselves at the deep end of the set. Once it reached the tie-breaker, it became a rather lopsided affair, as Bopanna and Ebden raised the ceiling to win seven points without dropping any to take a crucial lead. There’s a great chemistry between both of them, Bopanna doesn’t shy away from admitting the role Ebden played in prolonging his career. “Five years ago, I sent my wife (Supriya Annaiah Bopanna) a video message where I said I would call it a day, because I wasn’t winning matches. I went five months without winning a match, I thought that would be the end of my journey. But my perseverance kept me going and really changed so many things. I found a wonderful partner (Matthew Ebden) to get me to all the laurels.”
One can’t help but wonder how many levels are still left in Bopanna, and to what extent will he be able to put the physical limitations and stretch the definition of longevity. As with all things, the law of diminishing marginal utility will surely kick in at some point, but that’s another reason to closely follow the late-career discography of Bopanna. There are not many better storylines in sports than seeing a man, burdened by the weight of time and its concomitant worries, defying the very limit of possibility with his pure willpower. For how long can a man without cartilage in his knees delay the inevitable march of sporting time? Bopanna and Ebden will soon unite for the clay season, with eyes on the coveted Roland Garros title.
