MELBOURNE: Rohan Bopanna played his 61st Grand Slam doubles event with his 19th partner. The Indian has been around the block. Clearly. The 43-year-old's charge to the game's elite started with Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, he has also played with friends Mahesh Bhupathi and American Rajeev Ram.
Bopanna was seated on the interview terrace at Melbourne Park, it was well past midnight. He was exhausted and giddy with relief, but he didn't miss a beat when asked who his best partner was.
"Matt Ebden obviously no?" he said. "Not because we won a Grand Slam title today," the towering Kodava explained. "This partnership has been so consistent and that makes all the difference - week after week, Masters events and Slams, we are in contention. It's a very good feeling." "I am glad I found him at the age of 41," he said.
When the Indo-Aussie duo kicked off their partnership at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, they stuttered and stumbled. Despite successive early exits in the first two majors of the year, Bopanna and Ebden, who claimed a Masters 1000 title in the spring, were beginning to show what they were capable of.
Then came a series of losses in finals. The forever groomsman theory did the rounds. The triumph Down Under though has changed that perception.
