Rohan Bopanna makes history as oldest World No. 1 in Men's Doubles tennis at Australian Open 2024
By Ovaise Shariff | First Published Jan 24, 2024, 11:32 AM ISTIndia's tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna achieves a historic milestone, becoming the oldest player to claim the top spot in men's doubles tennis at the Australian Open 2024 alongside partner Matthew Ebden, expressing disbelief and gratitude for the support received during his 20-year tennis journey.
India's Rohan Bopanna has achieved a historic milestone, becoming the oldest player to claim the top spot in men's doubles tennis. Alongside partner Matthew Ebden, Bopanna secured this accolade by reaching the Australian Open 2024 men's doubles semi-final. After defeating Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the quarterfinals, Bopanna credited his team, acknowledging the crucial role played by family, coach, physio, and support staff. Expressing gratitude to fans and describing the achievement as a way of giving back, Bopanna looks forward to representing India in the semi-finals against Zhizhen Zhang and Tomas Machac.
Congrats to 🇮🇳 Rohan Bopanna, who on Monday will become the new World No. 1 in doubles!
The 43-year-old becomes the oldest first-time World No. 1 on the men's side 👏 pic.twitter.com/4yhsrURgtD
"First of all, Thank you so much, it's been an incredible 20 years playing this tournament week in, week out, and today, reaching the No. 1 ranking, it's an extremely amazing and proud feeling. It probably hasn't sunk in fully yet but still credit to the entire team, especially, the family, coach, physio, and everyone behind the scenes who play such a hugely important role and always keep me positive," he said after the quarter-final match. And of course, my partner Matt Ebden," he said.
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Bopanna thanked fans for their amazing support over the last 20 overs, having secured a spot in the Australian Open men's doubles semi-finals for the first time in 17 attempts. The achievement, Bopanna said, was his way of giving back.
"These last 13 months have been an incredibly consistent kind of a year. I am proud to be where I am today, at the ranking of no. 1. So, India needed this, Indian tennis needed this. I am really happy to be representing India across the world in this tennis journey. There's so much love and support from the entire country for two decades. I am thankful for all the support. I think, this is from my side, giving back to everyone in India. Thank you," he concluded.
Bopanna and Ebden will now square off against China's Zhizhen Zhang and Czech Republic's Tomas Machac in the semi-finals on Thursday to confirm their place in the final.
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