ACES Awards Rohan Bopanna Team Sportstar 28 December, 2018 15:30 IST Rohan Bopanna started playing tennis at a relatively late age of 11. - V. Sreenivasa Murthy Team Sportstar 28 December, 2018 15:30 IST Rohan Bopanna started playing tennis at a relatively late age of 11. It was only when he was 19 that he took the sport seriously.In 2010 and 2011, his partnership with Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi was a hit on and off the court. In 2011 the duo reached its first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and one year prior to that there was the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of Year award for the ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’ message.A Grand Slam title, the crowning achievement of any tennis career, took until 2017 to arrive when he clinched the French Open mixed doubles title in the company of Gabriela Dabrowski.In 2018, Bopanna may not have won a single ATP title, but he forged a forceful partnership with Divij Sharan in their first significant outing as a pair at the Jakarta Asian Games and the Indian duo, seeded No.1 in the men’s doubles event, struck gold.In September, Bopanna received the Arjuna Award from the Indian government. There was also his second-ever appearance in a Major final at the 2018 Australian Open (mixed doubles) and a crucial win over China in the Davis Cup, partnering Leander Paes.Stats:ATP ranking: 372018 win-loss: 26-23Top three performances in 2018:1) Asian Games doubles gold, August 24, Jakarta2) Australian Open mixed doubles final, January 26, Melbourne3) Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tie over China, April 7, Tianjin Vote for Rohan Bopanna