Melbourne: India’s Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan, playing as a pair for the first time on the ATP Tour, on Sunday defeated top seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in straight sets to win the men’s doubles title of the Adelaide International Tennis Tournament. The unseeded Indian pair registered a 7-6 (6) 6-1 win in one hour and 21 minutes. The Indian pair saved all four break points while breaking serve twice. This is Bopanna’s 20th ATP doubles title and his first with Ramkumar.
Ramkumar was playing only his second final at this level. He was the runner-up in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in 2018. “When Ramkumar is serving with you, you can win points quickly, so it’s an advantage,” Bopanna said.
Asked about how it is different to play with Ramkumar as compared to any other compatriot and left-hander Divij Sharan, Bopanna said, “With Divij we have to create a point opportunity, make sure that the first one is there. Take advantage of the opportunity you get on the volley while the points can be grabbed quickly with Ram.”
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Bopanna and Ramkumar will distribute $18,700 as prize money for this title win while each get 250 ranking points. This win will boost Ramkumar’s confidence ahead of the Australian Open qualifiers. He will once again challenge for a place in the main draw of the singles category of the Grand Slam tournament. Bopanna and Ramkumar saved a break point early and then played well.
Melo was serving 30-0 in the seventh game, when Bopanna scored with a serve return to the right of Dodig and scored 30-30 with a forehand winner. The Brazilian, however, managed to save the serve. Bopanna saved a break point in the next game and then saved the service to make the score 4-4.
Ramkumar then saved his serve for 5-6 and pulled the first set into a tiebreak. Bopanna scored 6-6 on Melo’s service return and then won the first set with Ace. In the second set, the Indian team won without giving any chance to the opposing pair. (agency)