First-time champs

Paris, Rohan Bopanna won his maiden Grand Slam title by lifting the French Open mixed doubles trophy with Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski, becoming only the fourth Indian ever to clinch a Major.
Bopanna and Dabrowski, seeded seventh, won the title following a stunning turnaround in the final. The determined duo overturned a set and a break deficit and saved two match points to eke out a 2-6 6-2 12-10 win over Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Colombia’s Robert Farah.
“We relaxed a little more in the second set, and we started playing our game. I think we were trying to do too much as a team,” Bopanna said. “Just because it was a final, we were trying to go for too much maybe on the returns or even on the serve. After that first set, we just stuck to what we do best. We started pushing each other, motivating each other. I think that’s what made the difference. Once the nerves calmed down, we played better tennis,” he added.
This was only the second time that Bopanna had reached the summit clash of a Grand Slam. Bopanna joins Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza as Grand Slam title winners.
First Canadian
“It’s very special, it’s something that you always dream about as a kid,” said Dabrowski, who became the first Canadian woman to win a Grand Slam.

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