Rohan Bopanna reaches Australian Open men doubles final

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Melbourne. A day after ensuring the world No. 1 ranking, Indian veteran tennis player Rohan Bopanna partnered with Australian Matthew Ebden to enter the Australian Open men’s doubles final with a win over Czech-Chinese pair Zhang Zhizhen and Thomas Matchek.

The second-seeded Indo-Australian pair defeated Zhang Zhizhen and Thomas Matchek 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) at the Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.

In his 17th Australian Open appearance, the 43-year-old Indian reached the men’s doubles final at Melbourne Park for the first time. He had never before progressed beyond the third round in the men’s doubles draw at the tournament.

Bopanna and Ebden reached their second consecutive Grand Slam final as a pair.

Bopanna and Ebden won 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to reach the quarterfinals against sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni of Argentina on Wednesday.

The win guarantees that Bopanna will top the ATP Tour doubles rankings after the tournament, making him the oldest world No. 1 player for the first time in history.

He will become the fourth Indian tennis player to reach world No. 1 in doubles after Olympic bronze medalist Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza.

Last year, the Indian top player became the oldest person to qualify for a Grand Slam final in the Open era when he and Ebden reached the US Open final.

Bopanna also has the distinction of being the oldest player to win the men’s doubles title at a Masters event. The feat was achieved last year at the age of 43 when he emerged victorious with Ebden in Indian Wells.

–IANS

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