This was published 2 years ago
That’s a wrap for tonight’s Australian Open coverage.
Thanks for joining us for a couple of historic wins: one for Aryna Sabalenka, who became the second Belarusian to win successive Australian Open’s singles titles, and one for Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna. The 43-year-old Bopanna became the oldest male grand slam winner.
We’ll be back tomorrow for a final day of live coverage that will culminate in the men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev.
Until then, have a splendid evening.
Australian Matt Ebden started his acceptance speech by saying his partner Rohan Bopanna is “young at heart”.
“Age truly is not even a number for this guy,” said the 36-year-old from Perth.
Bopaana, who will also become the oldest world number one on Monday, said he doesn’t think of himself as 43 years old.
“You definitely got to know how old I am, I’m sure. But I have changed it a little bit and I say I’m at level 43, not age 43, now,” Bopanna laughed.
There it is for the Australian and the Indian men.
A straight sets victory of 7-6 (7-0), 7-5.
Rohan Bopanna, slightly greying beard and all, becomes the oldest man to win a grand slam at the ripe old age of 43. He will also become the oldest ever number one (doubles player) as of Monday.
For Matt Ebden, it’s second time lucky in the Australian Open after losing the final against Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2022.
Two things of note have happened in the last few minutes.
The first, and probably more important, is that Ebden and Bopanna have just broken the serve of Bolelli and Vavassori.
The Australian and the Indian will now serve to become men’s doubles champions.
Many fans inside Rod Laver Arena are right behind “Team Australia” and it is local hope Ebden who will try to serve this one out.
The second thing of note is a staff member was observed handing out classy looking blankets to those left in the VIP seats as it has become quite cool in this stadium.
The clock has, after all, ticked past 11.20pm local time.
A veteran in every sense of the word, 43-year-old Bopanna’s vision and poise have made his service games nigh untouchable tonight.
He and Ebden, chasing a decisive second set win, put pressure on their Italian opponents for their service game, drawing them into a couple of deuces.
But a couple of big serves keep Bolelli and Vavassori in front, leading 4-3 in the second set, which remains on serve.
Our reporter Roy Ward is inside Rod Laver Arena and has shared this update:
“During the set break, I noticed some fans who were sitting together and holding India and Australia flags together.
This set is following a very similar path to the first one as the serving team is dominating and few break point chances have emerged.
It may well be that these two sides need to get to another tiebreak but surely someone will blink when it comes to their service game and allow a chance for a break.
At the moment, it’s 2-2 on serve in the second set.
Meanwhile, former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh has been spotted in the crowd by the television. He doesn’t look hugely enthused to be on the big screen but obliges with a wave nonetheless.
Aryna Sabalenka became just the second woman to win back-to-back Australian Open singles titles earlier tonight, defeating Zheng Qinwen in straight sets.
You can watch the best moments from that match here:
After the Italians held comfortably, forcing us into a tie-break, they were hit by a sucker punch out of nowhere.
Despite the tightly contested first set, Ebden and Bopanna sprinted to a 6-0 lead thanks to some quick reflexes at the net from the Indian.
Bolelli and Vavasorri improved throughout the set and even had a break point on Ebden’s serve but the Australia and Bopanna are seriously experienced doubles stars.
“Team Aussie” went on to execute the perfect tie-break: a 7-0 success, sealing a 7-6 victory in the first set.
That means Bopanna, at 43, is one more set away from becoming the oldest grand slam winner ever.
It will be interesting to see how the Italian duo responds now. While they head down the tunnel between sets, check out this silky smooth lob from Ebden in that first set.
There have been very few clear opportunities for either pairing so far in this men’s doubles final.
It took Ebden a couple of deuce points but he managed to get the job done and make it 6-5.
Bolelli and Vavassori will now serve to stay in the first set.
Our reporter in Rod Laver Arena Roy Ward notes they look a little bit like the bad guys in a local wrestling group.
“Go Team Aussie” called a fan as Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna prepared to start one of the games in this first set.
The local fans are clearly behind local hope Ebden’s team but they are locked in a close clash with the Italian pair, dressed to the nines in matching grey, black and bright orange kit.
They even have matching backwards caps.
This is the start of two special days for Italian tennis fans, who will be cheering on Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles tomorrow night.
The teams are on serve in the first set at 5-4 with the booming serves making break points very rare so far.