PANAJI: Star Indian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan produced a scintillating display to clinch the doubles title at the 2022 Tata Open Maharashtra with a stunning victory in the final at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune on Sunday.
The Indians defeated Australia’s Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith 6-7 (10-12), 6-3, 10-6 to claim their second ATP title together.
It was Bopanna’s 21st doubles title, and second in Pune after having won it in 2019, playing alongside Divij Sharan. The fourth edition of South Asia’s only ATP-250 event is organised by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association.
The Indian duo, which kickstarted the year on a high with their maiden ATP title together in Adelaide in January, started off well and despite some stiff challenge from the top seeds, put themselves ahead in the contest at 5-4.
However, the Aussie pair, looking to win their first title, took the set into the tie-breaker and wrapped up the opening set after that lasted for close to an hour.
Veteran doubles player Bopanna and his young energetic partner Ramkumar fought back well with a 4-2 lead in the second set. They further capitalised the momentum and levelled the scores.
Having tilted the momentum in their favour, Bopanna and Ramkumar held their nerves to take the charge in the crucial decider and secured a win in the grueling encounter.
The prestigious tournament is owned by IMG and operated by RISE Worldwide in India, states a press release.
