The Indian pair defeated the Croat-Brazilian pair of Dodig and Melo in straight sets 7-6, 6-1 to win the summit clash in Adelaide on the Centre Court.
In the one hour and 21 minutes contest, the Indians saved all the four break points they faced and broke their rivals twice.
Bopanna and Ramanathan had to dig deep in the closely contested first set to deliver their best as the Indian duo stuck it out and registered a thrilling 7-6 win in the end to take a 1-0 lead heading into the second set.
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???????? @rohanbopanna / @ramkumar1994 ???????? take out the title of 2022 Adelaide International Men’s Doubles Champions after defeating Dogid / Melo ????
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— Adelaide International (@AdelaideTennis) January 9, 2022
Bopanna and Ramanathan continued with their momentum, and the duo breezed to a easy win in the second set 6-1, winning the tournament in some style.
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.
Earlier in the tournament, Bopanna and Ramanathan had outclassed fourth seeds Tomislav Brkic and Santiago Gonzalez in straight sets to reach the final of the competition.
The unseeded Indian duo defeated the Bosnian-Mexican duo 6-2 6-4 in the doubles semifinals, which they reached after trouncing the French-Monegasque duo of Benjamin Bonzi and Hugo Nys 6-1 6-3 in the doubles quarterfinals.
The two Indians are pairing up for the first time on the ATP tour. Now after their good show, Bopanna and Ramkumar may pair up for India’s Davis Cup tie against Denmark scheduled to be played in New Delhi in March.
“When Ramkumar is serving by your side, you can finish the point early, so that was an advantage,” said Bopanna.
Asked how different it was playing with Ramkumar than another compatriot and left-handed Divij Sharan, Bopanan said, “With Divij, we had to create a point, ensure that first volley opportunity is taken while with Ram, the point can be finished early.
“I am surprised not many Indians entered this event. If anyone had landed here, would have entered the field since not many players were there.”
Bopanna and Ramkumar will split USD 18700 as prize money and earned 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.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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