Australia: India’s grand old man of tennis, Rohan Bopanna, on Wednesday, added another feather to his already-crammed hat as the 43-year-old has been assured of becoming the oldest first-time World No. 1 in ATP men’s doubles ranking following his stellar 6-4, 7-6 (5) win in the men’s doubles quarterfinals of 2024 Australian Open alongside Australia’s Matthew Ebden against Argentinian duo of Máximo González and Andrés Molteni.
The Indian tennis ace claimed the brand-new record by surpassing Rajeev Ram of the USA, who had climbed atop in October 2022, at the age of 38, for the first time in his career, swapping places with partner Joe Salisbury of Great Britain.
Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden confirmed their move in the ATP Rankings after they defeated 6th seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-6 (5) in an hour and 46 minutes in the men’s doubles quarter-final of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Second seeds Bopanna and Ebden will face unseeded Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang in the semi-finals. The Czech Republic-China pair defeated 3rd seeds and US Open champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the 2nd round earlier last week in Melbourne.
Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden have been one of the most consistent pairs on the tour over the last 12 months. Bopanna and Ebden reached the final of US Open 2023, their best result so far in Grand Slams.
