After defeating Grand Slam champions Nicole Melichar and Bruno Soares 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the 2020 Australian Open Mixed Doubles quarterfinals alongside Nadiia Kichenok, Rohan Bopanna speaks courtside in Melbourne.
Rohan Bopanna & Nadiia Kichenok · Mixed Doubles Round 2
Into Quarterfinals| Round | Match | Score | Result | Match Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2 | Rohan Bopanna (IND, 38) / Nadiia Kichenok (UKR, 39) d. Nicole Melichar (USA) / Bruno Soares (BRA) | 6-4, 7-6(4) | WON | Clinched 2nd-set tiebreak 7-4 over Slam champions |
“We played an extremely aggressive match today against two Grand Slam champions — serving big and taking control at the net was the key in the tiebreak.”
— Rohan Bopanna · Melbourne Park ExclusiveRohan Bopanna and his Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok beat American-Brazilian pairing of Nicole Melichar and Bruno Soares 6-4 7-6(4) to move to the QF. They will take on the winner of the match between Kyrgios/Anisimova & Mektic/Krejcikova next.
We played an extremely aggressive match today. We were against a team which has won a Grand Slam before. Both the players have won Grand Slam titles. So we know we were up against a very, very strong team. We had to play extremely well to beat them. I think we started off serving really well and that helped us take some chances on their return games and really put pressure on them. And I think that was one of the key things to get us to that match.
It was a last minute partnership because Sania got hurt and I had to find a partner. And Nadiia and myself made the cut. So, we were the last team in. And that’s how it actually came about. We didn’t really get enough time to practice.
I always like to play with Indians in the tournaments at home. Unfortunately, Divij was already set with Sitak. So I thought it’s a good opportunity to play with somebody from Pune. And Arjun has been doing pretty well and I think would be a good opportunity for both of us to play there. I have also lived in Pune for five years, back when I was playing as a junior. So I’m very happy playing with him there.