JAN-26, Days after confirming his status as the new world number one in doubles next week, Rohan Bopanna has secured a spot in the Australian Open final for the first time. The Indian and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden defeated Zhang Zhizhen (China) and Tomas Machak (Czech Republic) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) in the men’s doubles semi-final.
The second-seeded pair will face Italian duo Simone Borrelli and Andrea Vavassoli in Saturday’s final, both aiming for their first Grand Slam title.
Bopanna and Ebden reached the final of their second consecutive tournament and also reached the final of the 2023 US Open, but lost to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury due to lineup issues. The 43-year-old Indian is reaching his third major men’s doubles final, aiming for his first men’s doubles title after coming close at the 2010 US Open. If he crosses the finish line on Saturday, Bopanna will become the oldest player in history to win a Grand Slam doubles title.
Tournament officials say that by the end of the tournament, 36-year-old Bopanna and Ebden will become the world’s oldest No. 1 doubles pair (both 79 years old) in history.
Bopanna made his debut at the opening Grand Slam tournament in 2008. But he has had a disappointing performance over the years at Melbourne Park. He reached the mixed doubles final last year with Sania Mirza, but she did not make it past the third round in doubles.