First Sports Exclusive: The minute I started expressing myself, I started to win, says Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna notched his 500th career win on tour during the Australian Open. He then assured himself of the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. Then, on Saturday, came the title - his first in men’s doubles - alongside Australia’s Matt Ebden. His first men's doubles title at 43 years old. These jaw-dropping achievements saw him become the oldest World No 1 and men’s doubles Grand Slam champion.

And to think he was almost done with tennis in 2019. A flurry of defeats and injury concerns meant Bopanna was ready to call it quits. He told his wife via a video message that he was done.

So what changed? “Expressing myself is what helped. I wasn’t enjoying myself on the court and I was forced to get the win. So after speaking to my wife (Supriya) and coach (Scott Davidoff), they were not going to let me quit when I was down. I really thank them for that. The minute I started expressing myself more, I started winning again,” he said in an exclusive conversation with First Sports.

Read | At 'Level 43', Rohan Bopanna climbs top spot, wins maiden men's doubles Grand Slam title

“If you go into tournaments and don’t win, you start to force a situation. That started the belief back again. I thought let’s try and finish the year well and then take it from there. Eventually I started focusing on myself completely and how I can help the partnership. For example, if I hit a serve and the partner missed a volley, I would have come out and said, ‘partner should have made that volley’ but now I look at it as ‘my serve was not good enough, maybe that’s why he missed the volley’. I tried to change my perspective and that helped the mental strength get better,” he added.

For Bopanna it has been an overwhelming homecoming. “When we landed, there were so many friends, family there to receive us. That was beautiful and overwhelming. All my friends had come down from Coorg as well. Even at the airport it was such a warm welcome. It was really amazing so I’m overwhelmed with the love we’re getting and showered from each and every one.”

Having retired from Davis Cup last year, Bopanna has the option to focus on specific tournaments and luxury of a free calendar. As Indian team braces to face Pakistan in Islamabad, Bopanna is looking forward to relaxing at home, enjoying some time off with the family, look after his academy before shifting focus to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships that gets underway on 26 February.