Melbourne
Indian tennis stalwart, Rohan Bopanna, in tandem with partner Matt Ebden, secured a place in the men’s doubles semifinals at the Australian Open on Wednesday. As the 43-year-old veteran gears up for this significant milestone, a win in the upcoming matches could make him the oldest first-time World No. 1 in the ATP rankings. The second-seeded Indo-Aussie duo delivered a compelling performance, defeating the sixth-seeded Argentine pair of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni with a scoreline of 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) at the Margret Court Arena. Bopanna’s advancement to the semifinals propels him ahead of the current World No. 1, USA’s Austin Krajicek, in the ATP Rankings. Krajicek, in partnership with Croatian Ivan Dodig, was eliminated in the second round of the tournament. The formidable pairing of Bopanna and Ebden is now poised to face the Czech-Chinese duo of Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang in the semifinals, with the prospect of Bopanna achieving the historic World No. 1 ranking. Last year, Rohan Bopanna etched his name in the record books as the oldest man to qualify for a Grand Slam final in the Open era, reaching the final at the US Open alongside Ebden. The duo’s remarkable journey extended to four ATP Masters tournaments, culminating in an appearance at the ATP Finals in Turin. Additionally, Bopanna secured the title of the oldest player to win a men’s doubles title at a Masters event, achieved at Indian Wells in 2023 alongside Ebden.
