Rohan Bopanna, Ramkumar Ramanathan win Maharashtra Open, defeat top seeds Aussies in final

The star Indian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan claimed the doubles title of the Maharashtra Open 2022 at the Balewadi Stadium here on Sunday. The Indian duo defeated Australian top seeds Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith by 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-10 for their second ATP Tour title. The summit clash lasted for a titanic one hour and 45 minutes.

Bopanna-Ramanathan had earlier won the Adelaide international title in January. This was Ramkumar Ramanathan's second ATP Tour title after the Adelaide international while it was a 21st ATP Tour trophy for veteran Rohan Bopanna.

The match started at a cagey pace as both teams held their serve to carry the set into the tie break where Aussies raised their persistence to draw the first blood in the match. But the second seeds came stronger in the second set and broke the Aussies early to gain an advantage. With little resistance from the other side of the court, Indians broke top seeds again to easily force the match into the super tie-breaker.

The super tie-breaker was absolutely dominated by the Indians from the word go as they clinched the title with a 12-10 win. On Saturday, Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan battled way past into the doubles final. The Indian duo sealed their berth in the final after defeating the French pair of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul by making a sensational comeback in the tie-breaker to wrap up the match 4-6, 6-4, 12-10. The semi-final clash lasted for one hour and 27 minutes.

Later in the day, Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori and Joao Sousa of Portugal will face each other for the singles title.