Rohan Bopanna wins first Miami Masters title alongside Matthew Ebden

Rohan Bopanna won his first Miami Masters 1000 title alongside Matthew Ebden of Australia when they came from behind to beat Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek. The win will see Bopanna return to top of the rankings on Monday.

By clinching the trophy in Miami, Bopanna won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown to go with previous triumphs: 2011 Paris (with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi), 2012 Paris (with Mahesh Bhupathi), 2015 Madrid (with Florin Mergea), 2017 Monte Carlo (with Pablo Cuevas), 2023 India Wells (with Ebden). The title in Miami also snaps Bopanna and Ebden’s run of three straight final defeats in ATP 1000 tournaments (2023 Madrid, Shanghai and Paris).

The run to the final itself was a momentous occasion for ‘Bops’, who became the second Indian, after Leander Paes, to reach the final of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments .

The Indo-Aussie pairing came through 6-7, 6-3, 10-6 in an hour and 44 minutes against the Croatia/American team of veteran Dodig and Krajicek.

They had the opportunity to go a set up when serving for it at 6-5 but were broken after squandering two set point opportunities. On the other hand, Dodig and Krajicek were able to convert their first chance in the tiebreak after.

The second set saw a single break of serve, coming in the second game, as Bopanna and Ebden remained resolute and forced a deciding match tiebreak.

In the first to 10-point showdown, it remained neck-and-neck until Bopanna and Ebden bagged back-to-back and followed it up with one on their own serve to make it 9-6. The Australian Open champions were then able to convert their first match point opportunity, when Dodig hit his volley into the net, for the title.

Bopanna and Ebden won 78 per cent (39/50) of points on their first serves and saved seven of eight break points.

“I think it’s important, especially when we play no-Ad scoring, and Match Tie-breaks,” said Bopanna when asked about his serving prowess. “Every time I hit a serve, I felt it was very accurate, and it’s an extremely important aspect of tennis. Everyone starts a point with that serve, and that’s the only thing we have that we are in control of.”

At 2023 Indian Wells, Bopanna had become the oldest Masters 1000 champion. By lifting the Miami Open trophy on Saturday, 44-year-old Bopanna has pushed the record, and envelope, even further.

“It’s amazing. As long as you are doing well in these big events, it’s what we play for,” said Bopanna. “I want to do well in the Masters 1000s and the Grand Slams. It’s good to keep that record going and keep giving everyone else a run for their money.”