Rohan Bopanna set to make tennis history as oldest world No. 1 in men's doubles

NEW DELHI: India's seasoned tennis player, Rohan Bopanna, is on the verge of making tennis history as he is set to become the oldest player to achieve the World No. 1 ranking in men's doubles.

The 43-year-old, partnering with Australian Matthew Ebden, secured a place in the semifinals of the Australian Open after defeating the sixth-seeded Argentinian duo of Máximo González and Andrés Molteni with a comfortable scoreline of 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Bopanna, who entered the tournament with a career-high ranking of world No. 3, and Ebden will face unseeded Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang in the semifinals, with the Indo-Australian pair eyeing the spot in the summit clash.

Bopanna will surpass the record held by Rajeev Ram of the USA, becoming the oldest player to achieve the World No. 1 ranking in men's doubles. Ram achieved the top ranking in October 2022 at the age of 38.



Bopanna will be crowned the new numero uno on Monday after the end of the tournament.

Bopanna, having achieved the world No. 3 ranking for the first time in 2013, is set to join the elite club of Indian tennis players, including Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Sania Mirza, who have previously held the world No. 1 rank in doubles.

His journey to the top position involves taking over from the USA's Austin Krajicek, who, along with Croatian partner Ivan Dodig, exited the tournament in the second round.

While Bopanna has clinched a mixed doubles title at the French Open in 2017, a men's doubles title has eluded him thus far. However, he made history at the US Open last year by becoming the oldest-ever Grand Slam finalist.

Additionally, Bopanna holds the record as the oldest player to claim a men's doubles title at a Masters 1000 event, achieving the feat last year with Ebden at the prestigious Indian Wells tournament.

(With inputs from PTI)