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Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden continued their fine run at the Australian Open 2024 as they progressed to the men's doubles final on Thursday, January 25.
The Indo-Australian pair clinched yet another super tiebreaker in the tournament after a stiff challenge from Czech Republic's Tomas Machac and China's Zhang Zhizhen in the semifinal.
Riding on experience and holding their nerve as the match went down to the wire, the second-seeded pair triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
The terrific show comes just a day after Rohan Bopanna was assured of the World No. 1 ranking in men's doubles, which would be his career-best at the age of 43. While Ebden has played one Australian Open final in men's doubles apart from his mixed doubles title in 2013, Bopanna would play his first final in the event Down Under.
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Fans on social media were quick to react to Bopanna's achievement.
"Rohan Bopanna’s consistency and achievements is criminally underrated by the Indian Sporting Community and under appreciated by the larger Indian mass," a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan also congratulated his tennis counterpart.
"For some age is just a number! Congratulations to @rohanbopanna on becoming the oldest first-time World No. 1 in Tennis men's doubles at the Australian Open," Dhawan wrote.
Here are some more fan reactions on Bopanna's win:
Rohan Bopanna could end India's 7-year wait for a Grand Slam title
Ever since Rohan Bopanna won the French Open in 2017 in mixed doubles, no Indian has won a Grand Slam title. Bopanna and Sania Mirza came the closest to winning one when the duo reached the mixed doubles final in the previous edition of the Australian Open.
However, the Indians finished runners-up to the Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos in the final. Bopanna's French Open title in alliance with Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski is the only Grand Slam title for the 43-year-old after playing the Slams for close to two decades now.
Leander Paes is the most successful Indian with 18 Grand Slam titles in men's doubles (8) and mixed doubles (10). Mahesh Bhupathi (12) and Sania Mirza (6) are the only other Indians to win Grand Slams.
