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Rohan Bopanna on Saturday became the oldest man in the Open Era to lift a Grand Slam title after winning his first men’s doubles major, teaming with Australian Matthew Ebden, at the 2024 Australian Open. Bopanna and Ebden, 43, beat the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(0), 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena to claim the crown.
With the victory, Bopanna and Ebden claimed A$730,000 in prize money. Bopanna’s share will be AUD 365,000, which is equivalent to $1.99 crores. Meanwhile, the runner-up, Bolelli and Vavassori, received AUD 400,000 as a team.
This was Bopanna’s second career Slam after his mixed doubles triumph at the 2017 French Open, while for Ebden, it was his second men’s doubles trophy and third overall.
Bopanna and Ebden dominated the game on serve, winning 80 percent of the points with their first landing and not facing a single break point in the one hour and 40 minute clash. They reigned in the first set tiebreak, for the seventh consecutive time in the last fortnight in Melbourne, without conceding a single point. The second-seeded pair broke serve in the 11th game of the second set before Ebden served and Bopanna closed out the match with a forehand volley.
Before the start of the first major of the season, the organizers of the Australian Open had announced a 13.07 percent increase in prize money from the previous year, implying a difference of 10 million Australian dollars. Tournament director Craig Tiley had revealed the amount was A$86.5 million. Therefore, the prize money that Bopanna and Ebden received after their first Grand Slam title as a team is 5.04 percent more than what the men’s doubles winner had claimed in 2023.
“We have increased the prize money in each round of the Australian Open, with significant increases in qualifying and in the early rounds of singles and doubles,” Tiley had said. “We want to ensure that Australia remains the launch pad for the global tennis season and that players and their teams have everything they need to help them perform at their best and continue to enjoy the Happy Slam.”