Rohan Bopanna Web

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India men's doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan defeated top-seeded Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo to win the Adelaide International tournament on Sunday. The Indian pair defeated Dodig and Melo in straight sets to win the tournament. Bopanna and Ramanathan defeated Dodig and Melo 7-6, 6-1 here at the Centre Court.

The first set was closely contested and Bopanna and Ramanathan had to dig deep to find the best in themselves. In the end, the Indian duo stuck it out and registered a thrilling 7-6 win in the first set. Bopanna and Ramanathan continued with their momentum, and the duo breezed to an easy win in the second set, winning the tournament in some style.

Bopanna's excellent service returns at crucial times and Ramkumar's all-round game tilted the match in their favour. In the one-hour and 21 minutes contest, the Indians saved all the four break points they faced and broke their rivals twice.

20th ATP doubles title for Rohan Bopanna, first for Ramkumar

It was Bopanna's 20th ATP doubles title and first for Ramkumar, who was playing only in his second summit clash at this level, having ended a runner-up at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in 2018. Bopanna was all praise for his partner and said having him serving helps finish a point early. "When Ramkumar is serving by your side, you can finish the point early, so that was an advantage," said Bopanna.

Bopanna and Ramkumar will split USD 18700 as prize money and earn 250 ranking points each.

The win would be a huge confidence booster for Ramkumar ahead of the Australian Open Qualifiers, where he will aim to make the singles main draw of a Grand Slam once again.