Bopanna set for doubles No. 1 debut after reaching Australian Open SFs

Peter Staples

Even at 43 years old, Rohan Bopanna continues to break new ground in men's doubles. The Indian veteran's Wednesday win at the Australian Open not only extended his best run in Melbourne, it also guaranteed that he will debut atop the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings next Monday and become the oldest No. 1 in history.

Ebden and Australia's Matthew Ebden defeated sixth-seeded Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach their third straight Grand Slam semi-final as a team. Bopanna is seeking his first major title, while Ebden is bidding for his second after winning the 2022 Wimbledon crown with fellow Aussie Max Purcell.

Bopanna and Ebden have the same number of Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings points, but Bopanna will be No. 1 because he has played three fewer tournaments to earn those points.

"I think for every player out there, it is a dream," Bopanna said of his milestone. "It was my dream, and more so when you're playing the sport for couple of decades. Then now at this juncture for me to get to World No. 1, I think my perseverance to the sport, to stay in it and to keep fighting and to keep working hard, and have such a great partner by my side — I think the consistent year we had last year is why... This helped me get to this stage."

Bopanna entered the Australian Open at a career-high of World No. 3, fuelled by a title in Indian Wells, a runner-up finish at the US Open, and three additional ATP Masters 1000 finals (Madrid, Shanghai, Paris). His success this fortnight in Melbourne — where he had never been beyond the third round in 16 prior appearances — will see him leapfrog World No. 1 Austin Krajicek and No. 2 Ivan Dodig for the top spot.

"It hasn't sunk in fully, to be honest," Bopanna added. "I think Indian tennis, India needed this. We don't really have many tennis players coming up. Sport is slowly coming up. I think it's just going to inspire a lot of people. I don't think just in tennis. People all over the world, being 40 and above, I think it's just going to inspire them in a different way."

While he is bidding for his first AO men's doubles final, Bopanna has contested two mixed doubles finals in Melbourne — last year with Sania Mirza and in 2018 with Timea Babos.

Bopanna and Ebden, seeded second in this year's men's doubles draw, will meet the unseeded Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen in the semi-finals. The Indian/Aussie duo has won all five tie-breaks they've played this fortnight and lost just one set in four wins.