Shanghai Masters 2023: Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden finishes runner-up, set for ATP Finals debut

India faced heartbreak as veteran tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden lost in the Shanghai Masters 2023 men’s doubles tennis finals at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena on Sunday.

However, the duo of Bopanna and Ebden earned a spot in the ATP Finals 2023, which will be held at Turin in Italy this November.

Masters 1000 Title No.5️⃣ for Team Granollers/Zeballos 🤜🤛

The Spanish-Argentinian duo beat Bopanna & Ebden 5-7 6-2 10-7 to win their first #RolexShanghaiMasters trophy! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0oPuNgqnPX

— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 15, 2023

Defeat despite a lead in first set

The pair went down against the pair of Horacio Zeballos of Argentina and Marcel Granollers of Spain in the Shanghai final by 7-6, 2-6, and 7-10.

Rohan Bopanna made his third appearance in the ATP Masters 1000 final of the year. Back in March, the ace tennis player of India had won the Indian Wells Masters title with Ebden.

Doubles Delight! 🤗@HoracioZeballos & @M_Granollers clinch the #RolexShanghaiMasters doubles title with a 5-7 6-2 10-7 win over Bopanna & Ebden!

pic.twitter.com/i8akLOottd

— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 15, 2023

According to Olympics.com, The victory made Rohan Bopanna the oldest ATP Masters champion in the history of tennis.

The fourth-seeded pair of Bopanna and Ebden faced a tough challenge from Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. Both pairs managed to hold their respective serves in the first set. However, the Indo-Australian duo managed to get a decisive break point to take the lead in the 12th game.

Bounceback from Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos

The seventh-ranked pair of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos responded brilliantly and outperformed Bopanna-Ebden in the second-to-draw level.

The pair of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos took the first two points in the tie-breaker which left Bopanna and Ebden to play a catch-up game. The game lasted just under 90 minutes.

The Indo-Australian handed a defeat to the French pair of Fabien Reboul and Sadio Doumbia 7-6(0), 4-6, 10-2 via tie-break in the semi-finals.