"He's out there winning week in and week out" - Rohan Bopanna admits turning to Daniil Medvedev for inspiration after historic Indian Wells triumph
India's Rohan Bopanna made history on Saturday, becoming the oldest winner of an ATP Masters 1000 title in history after winning the 2023 BNP Paribas Open doubles in Indian Wells.
Partnering with Australia's Matthew Ebden, the 43-year-old took down top seeds Neal Skupski and Wesley Koolhof 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the summit clash. The triumph marked Bopanna and Ebden's second title of the year, with the duo also prevailing at the ATP Qatar Open. Prior to that, they had reached the final at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, falling to Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the title round.
Speaking at his post-tournament press conference in Indian Wells, the former World No. 3 touched on what made his partnership with Ebden so successful, stating that it had taken them some time to gel together.
"It always, you know, takes some time sometimes finding the right partnership. The last three, four weeks has been fantastic. Especially with the way we have been coming back from sets down when we were up a break, staying through that, staying positive," Bopanna said.
With the duo having scored several comeback wins on the road in the last couple of months, Rohan Bopanna admitted to taking inspiration from Daniil Medvedev, who has currently reached the final of the BNP Paribas Open in singles. Like the pair, Medvedev also reached the summit clash in Rotterdam and Doha -- only, the Russian managed to win both titles.
While Bopanna and Ebden fell in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships the week after the Qatar Open, Medvedev went all the way to win his third title in as many weeks.
Now, with the former US Open champion playing his fourth final on the trot, Bopanna couldn't see any reason why he and his partner couldn't do the same, especially as they were playing the same tournaments.
"That's the biggest key I think for the partnership. 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. Also, why not? It's always fun. When you see somebody there and doing so well," Rohan Bopanna said.
Matthew Ebden, meanwhile, recalled one particular training session at the ABN AMRO Open where it really clicked for him and his partner, leading him to think of that specific moment as the start of something "really great."
"In Rotterdam, I remember I think one practice session one of the days, we just started playing unbelievable both of us together at the same time. We just started really winning a lot of sets against all the guys... From that day, I felt, wow, I think we're really feeling good here. To the final there Really great start," Ebden said.
"The biggest thing was that we started the tiebreak really well, very positive" - Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna also spoke about how important it was for him and Matthew Ebden to start the match tiebreaker really well, as it shifted the game in their favor. With no ad-scoring, Bopanna felt doubles matches were more prone to momentum shifts than singles, making it all the more essential for them to focus on the positive things when they matter.
"The biggest thing was that we started the tiebreak really well, very positive. You know, and that made a huge difference. You know, in this format of the doubles where it's a no ad scoring and super-tiebreak, there are tons of momentum shift," Rohan Bopanna said. "You just have to figure out a way and as a partnership how you're going to really focus on that and bring the positive things when it really matters."