Rohan Bopanna secures the Qatar Open men's doubles title with Wesley Koolhof
What's the story?
India's doubles specialist, Rohan Bopanna, picked up his first title of the new decade as he won the Qatar Open 2020 men's double event along with his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof. The Indo-Dutch duo defeated the pair of Luke Bambridge and Santiago Gonzalez in a thrilling three-set match to win the $1,465,260 event.
The background
Rohan Bopanna has been one of India's most prolific tennis players in the doubles' section. The 39-year-old, who turned professional in 2003, had achieved the number 3 spot in ATP rankings during the 2013 season. He had won the mixed doubles event at the French Open in 2017 with Gabriela Dabrowski, while he was known for his epic partnership with Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the men's doubles category.
The heart of the matter
Playing against the British-Mexican team of Bambridge and Gonzalez, Bopanna and Koolhof had lost the first set 3-6. It seemed like the third-seeded Indo-Dutch combo would choke against their unseeded rivals, however, they came back like champions and secured the second set 6-2. Bopanna and Koolhof even won the third set 10-6 to take the trophy home.
Earlier in the semifinals, the eventual winners had outlasted the second-seeded team of Henri Kontinen and Franco Skugor as they won the match 7-5, 6-2. Besides, the runners-up had beat Frederik Nielsen and Tim Puetz 2-6 6-2 10-4 in the other semifinal.
With this victory, the duo of Bopanna and Koolhof have earned 250 ATP points and prize money of $76,870.
What's next?
With a championship win in the first month of 2020, Bopanna and Koolhof have set the barrier high for the months to come. It will be intriguing to see how this pair performs in the forthcoming ATP tournaments.