BOPANNA WINS MIXED DOUBLES CROWN

PARTNERS CANADIAN DABROWSKI IN 3SET FRENCH OPEN BATTLE

India’s Rohan Bopanna and Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski saved two match points to claim their first Grand Slam title on Thursday with victory in the French Open mixed doubles final.

The seventh seeds defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Colombia’s Robert Farah 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 in the final.

But they did it the hard way, coming back from a set and break down as well as trailing 9-7 in the super tiebreak where they faced two match points.

It was a first Slam title for both the 37-year-old Bopanna and his 25-year-old partner from Ontario. Bopanna has become only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam crown, after Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza.

Bopanna had last played a Grand Slam final in the 2010 US Open with Pakistan partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi. The 16th seeds had then lost to American twins Bob and Mike Bryan.

‘I AM PLAYING MY BEST TENNIS’

Bopanna said he is playing the “best tennis” of his career after he achieved a personal goal of winning a Grand Slam title. “There is a huge difference what I used to be as a player. I have played close matches over the years. I was not so nervous today as compared to 2010 (US Open final). Over the years it has helped me to adapt (quickly) to surfaces. Last two years I have been enjoying a lot playing on clay,” Bopanna said.

“I have started to control the points better. I am playing my best tennis. I have matured over the years. I know how to handle those situations better.”