On Friday, 8 September, the men's doubles final of the US Open took place between Indo-Australian duo Rohan Bopanna & Matthew Ebden, and USA-Britain pairing Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
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Ram & Salisbury won 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to lift their third consecutive men's doubles title at the US Open, but what caught the eye during the match was an extraordinary display of sportsmanship from the 43-year-old Bopanna.
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WATCH: Rohan Bopanna's act of sportsmanship during US Open final
In the deciding set, with the score at 4-2, 15-0 in favour of Ram & Salisbury, Ebden hit a cross-court forehand shot from the baseline to gain a point and make it 15-15.
However, after the point was awarded, Bopanna walked up to the umpire and admitted that his teammate's shot had grazed his arm before crossing the net, meaning the point should be awarded to their opponents.
Bopanna beoke Leander Paes' record as the oldest man to play in a Grand Slam final on Friday, a testament to his incredible fitness and passion for the game. However, this incident also proved how he has retained his sense of sportsmanship through the years.
Serious respect to @rohanbopanna for coming forth and saying a ball hit his elbow which no one else noticed. At that scoreline in the match and in a grand slam final that kinda sportsmanship needs recognition 👏
— Ellen Perez (@EllenPerez95) September 8, 2023
After the match, Rajeev Ram took a moment to acknowledge the moment, saying, "Rohan and I are real close and that act of sportsmanship today, what he did out on the court, I mean, we've been playing for the better part of 20-25 years on tour together. I know for sure I've never seen something like that, especially in a moment like this. Just shows what kind of guy he is."
In the game of tennis, as in life, age is not a barrier but a milestone of experience and resilience. Rohan, at 43, you've proven that the spirit of a champion only grows stronger with time. Best wishes to you and Matthew for the finals - may your racquets speak the language of… pic.twitter.com/FfsVQSixAe
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 8, 2023
In the post-match press conference, Bopanna said, "That's the person I have been through my career and I really feel it doesn't matter what the scoreline or what the occasion of the match is, if something was not right, it was not right."
