With a victory in the Australian Open quarterfinal in 2024, Bopanna made history as the oldest player to hold the top spot in the ATP men’s doubles rankings.
On Wednesday, Rohan Bopanna’s incredible performance at Melbourne Park, which led to the latter’s reaching his third Grand Slam final partnering Australia’s Matthew Ebden in the men’s doubles, was celebrated by the reigning Australian Open men’s singles winner, Novak Djokovic. Bopanna became the oldest world No. 1 in the history of the ATP men’s doubles ranking after defeating the Argentine pair of Máximo González and Andrés Molteni in the quarterfinal.
The previous record was held by American Rajeev Ram, who defeated Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury in October 2022 to win the title for the first time in his career at the age of 38.
In the midst of India’s festivities, Djokovic posted a humorous story on Instagram on Wednesday, dedicating it to Bopanna. The message said, “Congrats, Bops. Incredible work. Especially at such a young age. Even more remarkable.
Bopanna advanced to his second consecutive Grand Slam final with Ebden and his third overall on Thursday, building on his finest-ever performance at the Australian Open. He did so after defeating Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen in a tight super tiebreak in the semifinals at the storied Rod Laver Arena.
Speaking from Melbourne to the news agency PTI, Bopanna, who will take the top spot in the rankings on Monday regardless of the outcome of the final, believed that his feat at the age of 43 is just the boost Indian tennis needed at a time when it was starting to fade from view.
“It’s a great accomplishment for Indian tennis as much as for me. Something is needed to motivate the upcoming generation. Sumit (Nagal) had an incredible Australian Open as well. The Indian declared, “He won a round.” “Very pleased of this (being ranked #1 in the world in men’s doubles). This is a unique occasion. This has required many sacrifices. My family, my coaches, everyone. I’m traveling with my family, which makes me feel really different.”
The Italian combination of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will play Germany’s Dominik Koepfer and Yannick Hanfmann in the second semifinal on Rod Laver Arena. On Saturday, the match winners will play Bopanna and Ebden in the championship match. With his debut major in men’s doubles, Bopanna, who won the 2017 French Open in mixed doubles alongside Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada, will become the oldest Slam winner in ATP history if he wins in the final as well.
While Djokovic advanced to the Australian Open semifinals for the eleventh time this week, he faced off against Jannik Sinner, who defeated him twice in the latter part of 2023, after overcoming a determined Taylor Fritz in a four-set match earlier this week.
