Australian Open 2024: India's Rohan Bopanna Creates History, Advances To Semi-finals In Men's Doubles

In the Australian Open 2024, Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden advanced to the semi-finals of the men's doubles with a straight-sets victory on January 24 (Wednesday).

Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden advanced to the semi-finals of the men's doubles in Australian Open 2024

India's Rohan Bopanna created history as he is set to become the oldest player to achieve the World No. 1 ranking in ATP men's doubles at the age of 43. This milestone followed his notable 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory in the quarter-finals alongside Australia's Matthew Ebden against the Argentinian pair of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni during the Australian Open 2024 on January 24 (Wednesday). Bopanna's and Ebden advanced to the semi-finals in the men's doubles event in Melbourne.

Rohan Bopanna, currently enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 3, is set to become the new No. 1 in men's doubles when the rankings are updated next week. His partner, Mathew Ebden, is also guaranteed to reach the No. 2 spot in the rankings. Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden secured a spot in the men's doubles semi-finals at the Australian Open 2024 by defeating the sixth-seeded Argentine duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni with a score of 6-4, 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals. This victory will propel Bopanna to surpass the current World No. 1, Austin Krajicek of the USA, who was eliminated in the second round.

The Indo-Australian pair broke Gonzalez's serve in the fifth game and successfully saved the only break point faced on Ebden's serve in the eighth game. In the second set, Bopanna and Ebden overcame a mini-break in the tiebreaker to secure the win.

Here's a clip showcasing Bopanna's prowess in the quarter-finals:

🚨 NEW DOUBLES WORLD NO. 1 🚨

Our reigning doubles champion @rohanbopanna will take the top spot in the ATP Doubles Rankings on Monday!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/wMDPQLOUEt

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) January 24, 2024

Their next challenge in the semi-finals will be against the Czech-Chinese pair of Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang. If successful, it will be another significant achievement for Bopanna, who is already only the fourth Indian player to attain the No. 1 ranking in doubles after Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes, and Sania Mirza.

Bopanna, with a mixed doubles Grand Slam title from the French Open in 2017 and two men's doubles runner-up finishes at the US Open, has been a prominent figure in Indian tennis. Notably, his partnership with Ebden has seen them break records, including becoming the oldest Grand Slam finalist in 2023 and winning the men's doubles title at a Masters event at Indian Wells in 2023, setting another age-related record.