43-year-old Rohan Bopanna will register his career-best World No. 1 ranking as he and his partner Matthew Ebden sealed a spot in the men’s doubles semifinal at the Australian Open 2024 on Wednesday. The duo put up a clinical performance in the quarterfinal over sixth-seeded Máximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, winning 6-4, 7-6(5). This is also the first time Bopanna has qualified for the semifinals of the tournament in the men’s doubles circuit
Bopanna is ranked No. 3 and is assured to top the charts after the end of the Australian Open 2024. Indian veteran shows no signs of slowing down as he will also become the oldest first-time World No.1 player. He continues to be the flag-bearer of Indian tennis at the highest stage, taking big strides in Grand Slams.
The quarterfinal match went on for 1 hour and 46 minutes with the Indian-Australian pair taking the win in straight sets. Just as in the third round, Bopanna and Ebden showcased their strong service game, landing 65 per cent of first serves and winning 84 per cent of them. They also served nine aces with two double faults.
On the other hand, the Argentine pair landed 69 per cent of first serves, winning only 72 per cent of those points. They also had only two aces and registered one double fault. They only had one break-point across the two sets, which was not converted. Their opponents converted one break-point out of four chances, which proved to be the major difference in the match.
Bopanna and Ebden will face China’s Zhang Zhizhen and Czechia’s Tomas Machac in the semifinal on Thursday. Zhizhen and Machac entered the semifinals after they won a smooth sail battle over Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek, winning 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinal.