With the win on Court 3, Bopanna, playing his 17th consecutive tournament at Melbourne Park, made the semifinals at the Australian Open for the first time ever.
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.
Following a brief delay at the end of the third game, as bubbles were spotted on the court due to overnight rain in Melbourne, the Indo-Aussie pair closed out the opening set in just over half an hour. After breaking Gonzalez’s serve in the fifth game, Bopanna comfortably served out the first set, winning it 6-4.
Both the Argentine’s serves were tested early on the second set, but they held their nerves against the No. 2 seed as the proceedings headed to a tie-break. Bopanna and Ebden never lost a tie-break (4-0) in three matches so far in Melbourne, and the streak remained intact. The duo stuttered initially against the No. 3 seed, which included a double fault from Ebden. However, the Aussie reprieved himself with an ace and then a forehand winner, bouncing back from 1-3 down to 4-4 before two stunning returns from Bopanna saw the pair claim victory.
With the win on Court 3, Bopanna, playing his 17th consecutive tournament at Melbourne Park, having made his debut in 2008, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open for the first time in his career. His previous best was a third-round finish which he achieved six times in his career, the last in 2018 before incurring an array of five-straight opening-round exits. And it subsequently assures him the No. 1 crown when the fresh ranking list will be announced on Monday, the day after the final.
It comes almost four months after the Indian star became the oldest-ever man to make a Grand Slam final in the Open Era, when he and Ebden lost the US Open final in September. And it’s more than 20 years since he turned pro.