The British-American team of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury defeated Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in the men’s doubles final at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York on Friday.
The sixth-seeded Indo-Australian team lost 6-2, 3-6, 4-6 after making it to the Wimbledon Championships semifinals this year.
Fourth seeds Ram and Salisbury made history in New York by becoming the first team in the Open era to win the title three years in a row. Tom Bundy and Maurice McLoughlin, an all-American team from 1912 to 1914, were the last group to accomplish the feat.
Ram, 39, and Salisbury, 31, also won the 2020 Australian Open title. Ram became the 58th player in Open era history to win a Grand Slam doubles title.
Bopanna and Ebden got off to the right start by defeating their competitors in the opening game. The fierce forehand of the Indian was in action. On a weak return, he blasted a winner to score three breakpoints.
Ram didn’t do them any favors when he missed a simple backhand volley on the first opportunity. Bopanna extended his advantage with a simple hold.
When the Briton served at 30-40, the sixth seeds had a breakpoint opportunity to go up 3-0 but were unable to capitalize on it. After playing three deuce points in the third game, the reigning champions overcame a few tense moments and ultimately joined the game.
On Salibury’s return, Ebden’s winning volley gave them another breakpoint, which they secured when the British player could pick up a half-volley.
Bopanna and Ebden were now comfortably up 5-2 in the opening set, which gave them complete control of the match.
To finish the set, the Australian came out and served. Ram missed his forehand return on the opening set point as Ebden placed his serves precisely where he needed to go up 40-0.
Salisbury was experiencing a heatwave. When he came out to serve in the second set, it was clear.
The third seeds ultimately managed to hold the third game to remain in the match after the Briton served two double faults and was facing a breakpoint when Bopanna struck a screaming backhand passing winner at 30-all while sprinting to his left.
Bopanna soon found himself having trouble with his serve. Ram’s technique of shooting deep returns and the Indian’s double fault caused him to get a little uneasy, which was enough to let Ram to capture the key break that gave the holders a 4-2 lead.
Ram’s serve and Sailsbury’s groundstrokes both improved as a result of their confidence growing after the break of serve, coupled with their mobility on the court.
Ram’s ace to end the set and force a deciding.
The momentum had definitely changed.
Bopanna was behind 0-40 in the first game of the final set, which would have made things much more difficult for him, but he avoided all breakpoints by scoring five consecutive games for a challenging hold.
The fourth game saw breathless action as Salisbury survived three breakpoints to maintain her serve.
Intense competition was seen as two teams raised the bar for the tennis being played. In the sixth game, Bopanna delivered a double fault at 30-all, resulting in a further breakpoint deficit.
The Indian attempted an all-out cross-court forehand winner but almost missed the line, giving the opposition’s side a critical break that they easily held onto.
With the score 2-4 in the final set, Bopanna displayed outstanding sportsmanship and character by giving up a point after his serving partner’s forehand return hit his right arm.
The Indian himself informed the umpire that he was relinquishing the point, but it was still thought to be a victory since the chair umpire failed to spot the deviation. In the next game, Bopanna and Ebden both maintained the serve.
There was no surprise when Ram stepped out to serve for the title.
THE HISTORY MAKER: BOPANNA
Rohan Bopanna, who has won 24 career championships in doubles, has an overall win-loss record of 482-359 (57.3%) in ATP World Tour, Grand Slam, and Davis Cup matches.
Bopanna, an Indian who is 43 years old, has previously competed in the men’s doubles championship match with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in 2010. Bopanna, who won his first and only Major in 2017 when he and Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski won the French Open mixed doubles title, advanced to his third Grand Slam final overall.
Bopanna also set a record for the oldest player in the Open era to make it to a Grand Slam final. Daniel Nestor of Canada, who was 43 years and 4 months old when he participated in a Major final, had a record that Bopanna broke by two months.
The only two male tennis players from India who have achieved Grand Slam success are Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
Bopanna had fallen short in the second round of the mixed doubles competition with her Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi.
Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni, two further Indian competitors, having each lost their separate opening-round matches in the men’s doubles competition.
Ankita Raina was eliminated in the third round of the women’s singles qualifications, Karman Kaur Thandi was eliminated in the first round, and Sumit Nagal was unable to go through the first round of the men’s qualifiers, hence there were no Indian singles participants in the main draw of the 2023 US Open.
