Rohan Bopanna has achieved a dream of his by becoming the world no. 1 in men’s doubles tennis. At 43, Bopanna is the oldest player in history to do so and he hopes the feat would serve as an inspiration to players back home in India.
Combining with his Australian partner Matthew Ebden in the quarter-final against Argentina team of Máximo González and Andrés Molteni, Bopanna stormed into his maiden semi-final of the year’s first Grand Slam title with a straight set victory.
Also Read: Bopanna Surprises His Doubles Partner and Fans by Revealing He’s Become World No. 1
Now, he’s just a couple of wins away from achieving the second Gran Slam title of his storied career.
Bopanna entered the tournament ranked No. 3 in the world following a super run last year that saw him winning the Indian Wells title followed by runners-up finish at the US Open 2023 and three more ATP Masters 1000 finals appearances.
“I think for every player out there, it is a dream. 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 told reporters after the match played at the Margaret Court.
Bopanna acknowledged that it’s been a long time since India has had a player performing and winning titles at international level and so him becoming the top-ranked player at such a ripe age could help in ending the drought.
“It hasn’t sunk in fully, to be honest. We are very, very proud. I think Indian tennis, India needed this,” Bopanna said. “You know, we don’t really have many tennis players coming up. The 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, you know, being 40 and above, I think it’s just going to inspire them in a different way.”
Edben seemingly wasn’t aware of Bopanna’s feat and was pleasantly surprised when the Indian revealed it during the on-court interview leading to loud cheers from the fans.
“(It’s a) huge milestone. We should acknowledge it. It’s an incredible thing for ‘Bops’, especially at his age,” Ebden said.
“We made our intentions clear. Said I want to get to World No. 1, win the slams, the big tournaments. We have ticked a lot of boxes the last year, and this is another one of those,” he added
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