Bengaluru, Feb 12 : The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) on Monday felicitated world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Rohan Bopanna, acknowledging his tremendous feats in the sport. Bopanna recently became only the third male Indian player to win a men's doubles Grand Slam trophy when he triumphed at the Australian Open 2024.

'I would like to thank the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) for honouring me today. There were a lot of difficulties in this long journey but I never looked at them in a bad way and knew that my opportunity would come. My parents and sister gave me tremendous support and I wouldn't have been here without them.

"The biggest thing is to not change academies and coaches immediately and be patient with the process. A lot of credit goes to everyone who has helped since my younger days and I am grateful to everyone for their part in this journey. My best wishes to everyone playing at the Bengaluru Open,' Bopanna expressed after the felicitation ceremony.

Apart from the KSLTA officials, Padma Shri para-athlete K.Y Venkatesh, former heptathlete and Asian Games bronze medallist Pramila Aiyappa, former tennis player and 1998 Asian Games bronze medallist Srinath Prahlad and 2014 men's doubles Wimbledon Champion Vasek Pospisil also congratulated Rohan Bopanna for his achievements.

Bengaluru-born Bopanna played tennis at the KSLTA Stadium in his growing years and was also appointed Vice President of the state body in 2020.

'Rohan Bopanna continues to inspire the younger generation with his achievements. At an age when most players find it difficult to sustain on challenging ATP Tour, he is winning Grand Slam titles. We have witnessed his journey closely since he was a passionate youngster. He certainly has taken Indian tennis to heights. I, on behalf of KSLTA, congratulate Bopanna on his historic feat in Melbourne and wish him the best of luck for his future tournaments,' commented Hon Secretary of KSLTA Maheshwar Rao, IAS.

En route to his inspiring title-winning show in Melbourne, the 43-year-old also touched the numero uno rank for the first time in his career. Before the Coorgi, only Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati and Sania Mirza managed to sit atop the ranking table.

In his glorious career, Bopanna has so far won 25 doubles titles on Tour and will also represent India at the Paris Olympics.

/IANS