Rohan Bopanna, 43, became the oldest Masters champion in tennis history after he and his doubles partner Matt Ebden won the Indian Wells doubles title. In the Indian Wells doubles final, Bopanna and Ebden defeated Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 6-3 2-6 10-8 in the Indian Wells doubles final.
After not doing well in Australia, Bopanna and Ebden reached three finals in their last four tournaments – Rotterdam, Doha and Indian Wells. Following their Indian Wells victory, Bopanna revealed he and Ebden have been drawing a bit of inspiration from Daniil Medvedev – who also reached the finals in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells.
“You know, maybe a little inspiration from Daniil Medvedev. He’s really out there winning week in and week out and we have been playing similar tournaments as he is. (Smiling.) Also, why not? It’s always fun. When you see somebody there and doing so well,” Bopanna said.
Bopanna texted Daniel Nestor
The previous record for the oldest Masters champion was held by former doubles world No 1 Nestor. In 2015, Nestor was 42 when he won the Cincinnati Masters doubles title. Bopanna and Nestor have a good relationship and the Indian texted the Canadian after breaking his record.
“So I’m really happy that — I did text Danny Nestor and tell him I’m sorry that I broke his record. He had some kind words for me, which I can’t tell you. So yeah, but it’s really nice, and Dan is a close friend of mine.
I’ve won a couple titles with him. It’s really nice,” Bopanna revealed. Meanwhile, Bopanna and Ebden now have titles as a duo. In mid-February, Bopanna and Ebden finished as runners-up in Rotterdam. The following week, Bopanna and Ebden made it all the way in Doha. This past week in Indian Wells, Bopanna and Ebden captured their second team title in Indian Wells.
