Rohan Bopanna became the oldest man to win the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open quarter-finals with Matt Ebden at the age of 43 Double No. 1 player.
The Indian-Australian pair defeated the Argentinian duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park on Wednesday. Molteni, but the game was moved due to a bubble on court three.
Bopanna said reaching No. 1 at the age of 43 will have a global impact.
“It’s going to inspire a lot of people, and I think not just in tennis,” he said. “People who are 40 and older around the world are motivated in different ways.”
According to the International Tennis Federation, the previous oldest men’s doubles number one, Mike Bryan, was 41 years and 76 days old when his term ended in 2019.
Bopanna will be 43 years and 330 days old at the end of Sunday’s match.
Lisa Raymond is considered the oldest women’s doubles No. 1, having been 39 when she gave up her crown for the last time in 2012.
Serena Williams is the oldest woman to hold the No. 1 singles ranking at 35 years old. Federer’s 36-year-old men’s singles record may be broken this year by Novak Djokovic.
In 2018, David Wagner was 44 years old when he ranked first in the quadruple wheelchair rankings.
Bopanna and Ebden have the same ranking points, but the Indian will be ranked first as Ebden has competed in three more events during this period.
Bopanna said reaching number one had always been a dream and he attributed his rise in the rankings to Ebden.
“Matt and I have the same number of points, so technically I think we should be No. 1 together,” he said.
Newsletter Promotion Post
They joined at the end of 2022, when their previous partners chose different career directions. Bopanna said they didn’t have much choice at the time.
When it comes to finding new partners, the pool of potential players is small, Ebden said.
“He played a draw. [right side of the court]I played the ad [left side]we’ve known each other for a long time and we thought our games would complement each other well, so we thought ‘let’s give it a try’,” he said.
Their coach, Scott Davidoff, has known Bopanna since 2005 and has worked for him for 12 years. He said the pair “always have each other’s backs, not just in tennis” and that being ranked No. 1 was a “special achievement”.
“It’s definitely an exciting day, but we have a lot more to look forward to tomorrow.”
Ebdon won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title in 2022 with Max Purcell. Bopanna won the 2017 French Open mixed doubles title but is still chasing his first men’s doubles Grand Slam.
The two will face Tomas Machak and Zhang Zhizhen in the semifinals on Thursday.
