Now that's one way to cap a historic month, with Asian Games gold. September has been quite the month for Rohan Bopanna: He became the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final at the US Open in New York. He ended his 21-year long Davis Cup career for India with a win in Lucknow. Now, he's won his first mixed doubles gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
All this at 43 years and a half years old.
On Saturday, he partnered with Rutuja Bhosale to beat Chinese Taipei pair of Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang, 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 in the final.
The second seeds had to come back from a set down, where both had their serves broken, to clinch it in a dominant super tie-break (first to 10 points.)
It took some fight, and Bopanna had to use his vast experience, but he got the job done. And a job he needed to get done for Indian tennis. India was yet to win a gold medal in Hangzhou and had won just one other silver in what had been an poor campaign overall.
Bopanna, world no 7, was the highest-ranked doubles player at the Asian Games, but it wasn't men's doubles that delivered expected success. In the first round of the men's doubles, Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri (top seeds) were stunned by Uzbekistan's Sergey Fomin and Khumoyun Sultanov.
So, would India's streak gold medals at tennis, one that goes back to 2002 at the Asian Games, break in Hangzhou?
Bopanna stepped up to make sure it wasn't. And he did it with Bhosale - 16 years his junior and far less seasoned, ranked 215th in the world and vying for her first Asiad medal.
Bhosale was likely chosen for her good track record in doubles while India's top ranked player Ankita Raina was partnering Yuki Bhambri, and it paid off.
In the final, the Indians were on the backfoot early on, with Bhosale being broken in her first service game and Bopanna in his first. But they bounced back in the second, securing a late break as Bhosale shed her nerves and found her rhythm at the net.
In the decider - a first to 10 points tiebreak - India dominated from the start for a 3-0 lead. Bopanna was dialled in, upping his intensity: it was clear how much he wanted this.
They were 5-1 up at the halfway mark as Bopanna's booming groundstrokes set up points with depth and direction. Fittingly, the gold was sealed by an ace from Bhosale, debut medalist.
For Bopanna, it was his second, but the celebration was no less muted. In India, a gold medal at a multi-sport event carries a lot of weight. He knows this, after his experience with the Arjuna Award a few years back. (Saketh Myneni was preferred for the award over him because of Asiad golds.)
He has the Arjuna now, and a lot more accolades which shine brighter given his age. His fitness and commitment to the sport is exemplary at a time when younger Indian tennis players are struggling to make a consistent mark.
In the packed, elite tennis calendar, the timing of the Asian Games tends to clash with major events. In 2014, Bopanna had skipped the Asiad to focus on the tour. In 2018, he went straight to the US Open, after winning the men's doubles gold with Divij Sharan.
Bopanna's name is not often in the list of modern-day Indian tennis greats. Not in the same way as Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi. Of course, he doesn't have the same credentials with just the one Grand Slam title - a French Open mixed doubles back in 2017. But in the last few years, Bopanna's longevity and hunger has made him the most regular success story of Indian tennis.
The only Indian representation at the highest level of the sport.
In January, he reached the mixed doubles final at Australian Open, parterning Sania Mirza is her farewell Grand Slam. He also reached the men's doubles semifinal at Wimbledon and of course the US Open men's doubles final, which was only his second ever.
All of those ended in heartbreak and while the Asian Games mixed team medal is no comparison to the Grand Slams, is a good validation of his ability and physicality. And with his Davis Cup career over, it was also a reminder of where he stands in Indian tennis.
From partnering 36-year-old Sania Mirza at the start of the year to 27-year-old Rutuja Bhosale now, Bopanna is the last one standing, bridging the gap from a generation where India were in with a shout at the top to now where there are only 2 medals from an Asiad.