Bopanna/Dabrowski Clinch Roland Garros Mixed Doubles Crown
India’s Rohan Bopanna and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada saved two championship points on Thursday to capture the Roland Garros mixed doubles title.
Bopanna and Dabrowski recovered from a 7/9 deficit in the Match tie-break to beat Colombia’s Robert Farah and Anna-Lena Grönefeld of Germany 2-6, 6-2, 12-10 in 67 minutes. The team, who also competed at this year’s Australian Open, share €118,000 in prize money.
"It is truly special," said Bopanna. "When you start playing tennis, you want to win a Grand Slam... I think we didn't start off great today, but we kept pushing, kept working hard together, and we finally got through... For me, it was always a personal goal to win a Slam. And it's still sinking in, to be honest."
Farah and Grönefeld broke Dabrowski’s serve three times - in the third and seventh games of the 22-minute first set, then again at 2-1 in the second set. Bopanna and Dabrowski were then able to regroup by winning five straight games, prior to taking a 3/1 lead in the Match tie-break. Farah and Grönefeld let slip a 9/7 advantage, with Grönefeld double faulting on Bopanna and Dabrowski’s second championship point.
When asked how he felt at 7/9, Bopanna admitted, "At that point in time, you just play what you have done in practice and in matches. You don't really try to do anything different. You don't think that it's a match point. You just go play aggressive. I think Gaby came out with a great return on 8/9, when Robert served. She trusted her instinct and hit a great backhand. I think that's what made this match special."
Farah and Grönefeld had previously finished as runners up at Wimbledon last year, losing to Henri Kontinen and Heather Watson 7-6(5), 6-4.
Farah is still alive in the men’s doubles draw with his regular partner, Juan Sebastian Cabal. The No. 16 seeds will play Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus in the semi-finals later today.
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.