NEW DELHI: The year was 2000. Sania Mirza, then all of 14 years old, showed up in New Delhi to play the coveted DSCL Open – the national tournament. She met, and teamed up with, a tall and well-built Rohan Bopanna and clinched the mixed doubles title.20-year-old Bopanna also made a run to the men’s doubles final alongside Vishaal Uppal, where they lost to Saurav Panja and Nitin Kirtane.By then, Bopanna – laced with a massive serve – had already started to make waves in the ITF Junior circuit, played the 2000 Gold Flake Open and shifted focus to the Futures level.ALSO READ: Bopanna – ‘Tennis gave me a purpose when I was lost’
That encounter was the foundation of a friendship that goes on until now. On the court, the circle was complete two years ago when the duo teamed up to reach the 2023 Australian Open mixed doubles final. It was 36-year-old Mirza’s final major before retiring.
“The biggest core memory that I have is us winning the Nationals together, me as a 14 year old, him as a 19-20 year old. And I think for us, that’s really where our friendship really began,” Sania told TimesofIndia.com just days after Bopanna called time on a 22-year professional career.ALSO READ: ‘Fine wine’ Rohan Bopanna kept getting better with age“Over 20-22 years later, we’re still here and he’s one of my closest friends. And it’s been an honor. We’ve had some great matches together. And obviously the one that probably stands out the most is losing in that Australian Open final – in my last Australian Open that I played.”“And there would be no better way to finish for me than to play with Rohan. So I think that’s definitely one of the most amazing memories, the first and the last times that we played together,” she added.
Mirza still remembers that first-ever meeting 25 years ago.“I was 14 years old and we were going to play the Nationals mixed doubles. That’s the first time ever that I met him and I was really intimidated because he was really tall,” said Mirza with a smile.“I had heard he had the biggest serve in the country – and then later he had one of the biggest serves in the world – but he was always a gentle giant and I think that’s really what really really comes to my mind when I think of him besides all his achievements,” she continued.Sania and Rohan have teamed up on numerous occasions since. They won the 2007 Asian Hopman Cup – the qualifying event for the team event before the Australian Open. But, for many, the most memorable – and heartbreaking – moment featuring the duo came at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
In the semi-finals, Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram edged the Indian pairing 10–3 in the match tiebreak. Put simply, had Bopanna-Mirza won that tiebreak, they would have been assured of a silver medal. Instead, a devastated pairing went into the bronze medal match and were swept by Czech Republic’s Lucie Hradecka and Radep Stepanek.Yet, the disappointment of Rio Olympics doesn’t take away from the achievements of both. Bopanna winning two majors and reaching a best of World No. 1. Mirza, on the other hand, won six majors and also topped the rankings at one point. Both retired after a lengthy career – Mirza at the age of 37 and Bopanna at a jaw-dropping 45.“Perseverance is probably the word for Rohan. I mean, he is somebody who got that kind of success later on in his career. So I would just say perseverance and a never-give-up attitude,” finished Mirza on the words she’d use to describe the Coorg-born.
