French Open: Rohan Bopanna owns 'beautiful journey'

Rohan Bopanna and Dutchman Matwe Midelkoop are making a habit of living on the edge at Roland Garros. "Why not?" the Indian asked, "especially if it's working." The duo saved five match points on Saturday to make the last-eight of the French Open, where again on Monday, they rallied from -- a set down, 3-5 in the decider and 0-3 in the super tie-break to stop Briton Lloyd Glasspool and Finland's Harri Heliovaara. The Indo-Dutch pairing then reeled off 10 straight points, studded by some stirring net play, including a Bopanna reflex volley, that gave them a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-3) win.

Bopanna, in his fifth major men's doubles last-four clash, his first in Roland Garros and first Grand Slam men's doubles semifinals in seven years, has been in five quarterfinals here. Bopanna and Midelkoop will take on Dutchman Jean-Julien Roger and Salvadoran Marcelo Arevalo on Thursday for a place in the title round. Bopanna, ranked 27, had climbed as high as No.3 in the world in 2013.

The Indian has won 21 career doubles titles, but has made only one Grand Slam final 22-years ago, in tennis' two-man act. "That I should've won more are people's expectations," Bopanna assessed. "It is not for me to fulfill those expectations." The 42-year-old, a picture of calm on the tennis court, sparked some of the cool in the narrative he has done well to own.

"I'm from a country where people have already achieved this," he said. "For myself, I prefer to look at things differently. I'm from Coorg, when I started out there was no concept of fitness trainers or even (high-level) coaches there.