Indian Wells Masters – Indian-Australian duo of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden clinches Men’s Doubles title

India’s Rohan Bopanna clinched the Men’s doubles title at the Indian Wells Masters with his Australian partner Matthew Ebden. The duo defeated World No.1 Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski by 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the final on Sunday.

43-year-old Bopanna became the oldest man to ever win a Masters 1000 doubles title, surpassing his former Daniel Nestor from Canada. He also becomes the first Indian man to claim the Indian Wells Masters doubles title since Leander Paes in 2007.

With this win, Bopanna-Edben won their first Masters 1000 title, and the second after their first season as a pairing.

‘It’s been 12 years since I first played the semifinal’ – Bopanna

“I’d like to thank my partner. It’s his first Masters title, and it’s my first Masters here at Indian Wells. It’s a big moment. Every year we keep coming back and I pass the locker room near the restaurant and I see the champion’s pictures on the wall. It’s been 12 years since I first played the semifinal, so I’m glad that I finally got through,” said Bopanna after claiming the title.

The Indian-Australian pair duo lost the first point of the champion’s tiebreak after splitting the first two sets. After that, the pair made a comeback by claiming the next points immediately and never trailed back after that and went on to claim their second title together.

Bopanna was playing his 10th ATP Master 1000 final, and now he has a total of 24 tour-level trophies after this victory. Meanwhile, Edben won his ninth tour-level title and his first championship at the ATP Masters 1000 level. He won the 2022 Wimbledon with his fellow Australian mate Max Purcell.

“Bops (Bopanna) and I spoke about it at the beginning of this year. We said we’re not here to make up numbers. We want to win the Slams, we want to win the Masters, the 500s, and try to get to that No. 1 ranking. That’s what it’s about. Today’s a big step in that direction,” said Edben after the victory.