Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan beat Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday in the first-ever all-Indian doubles final at the Aircel Chennai Open to secure their maiden ATP title as a pair.
Bopanna’s 15th career title would have come as a relief to him after a barren run in 2016, and Jeevan would have cherished the fact that his maiden triumph at this level was achieved in his home-town.
Purav and Divij, who had knocked out Leander Paes and Andre Sa in the opening round, looked off-colour in the final. The latter was broken in the second game of the first set and the pair went down 0-3. They did pull level after breaking Bopanna in the fifth game.
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While Bopanna was impressive with his aggressive returns, the left-handed Jeevan played some skilful lobs and chips even as their opponents struggled with accuracy and failed to close out points.
Purav was broken in the eighth game and Bopanna produced a solid service game to hold at love with a couple of aces to take the set.
Early in the second set, Purav and Divij started well by breaking Bopanna for a 2-0 lead but failed to sustain the momentum as Divij surrendered the break immediately. Bopanna and Jeevan consolidated and then broke again to go ahead 3-2. From there, they all they had to do was hold serve to seal the match.
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“I think the early break in the first set gave us the momentum,” said Bopanna. “It is great to start the season with a title, especially after last year, and I think I am headed in the right direction.”
With this win, Jeevan became the first player from Chennai to win the title here.
“I loved the moment. It’s great,” he said.
“You are playing in your backyard, making the final despite not being seeded, it’s already a great start to the season.”
Speaking about the differences between the two teams, Purav said: “Rohan returned well to set the tone. He hit two return-winners every game. For me, he is one of the best doubles players of this decade.”