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File photo of Rohan Bopanna (left) and Sania Mirza.© X (formerly Twitter)
Veteran India tennis star Rohan Bopanna entered the history books on Wednesday after he and his Australia partner Matthew Ebden reached the semi-finals of the men’s doubles event at the Australia Open. The 43-year-old became the oldest World No. 1 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings. Bopanna and Ebden outclassed Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in straight sets at the Margaret Court Arena. The Indo-Australian pair clinched a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory to secure a safe passage into the semi-finals of the tournament.
As Bopanna became the oldest World No.1 in ATP rankings, his long-time friend and former tennis star Sania Mirza congratulated him on the remarkable achievement.
“You did it Ro. So proud,” Sania captioned a picture of her and Bopanna on Instagram.
Coming back to the match, Bopanna and Ebden dominated the game from the very first moment and they ended the first set in just half an hour winning it 6-4.
Bopanna and Ebden did not lost a tie-breaker in the previous three games of the Australian Open and the winning streak stayed intact as they bounced back from 1-3 down to 4-4. In the end, Bopanna placed two magnificent returns which helped them seal the win in Melbourne.
The 43-year-old secured the top spot in the ATP rankings and became the oldest World No. 1 after surpassing Rajeev Ram of the USA, who held the first place at the age of 38 in October 2022.
Bopanna and Ebden will lock horns against China’s Zhizhen Zhang and Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in the semi-final round on Thursday to confirm their place in the final round.
Earlier in the third round of the ongoing Australian Open, Bopanna and Ebden clinched a win over Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic in a tight two-set match 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4) in Melbourne Park on Monday.
(With ANI Inputs)
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