Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna secured the top ranking in men's doubles following his impressive performance at the Australian Open.
Bopanna, partnering with Matthew Ebden, advanced to the semi-finals by defeating the Argentinian duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni with a score of 6-4, 7-6(5).
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In semifinal, Bopanna and Ebden will face Zhizhen Zhang of China and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic for a spot in the final. The duo's stellar performance has elevated both players to 7170 points in the live ATP Rankings, surpassing America's Austin Krajicek, who holds 7160 points.
At 43, Bopanna is the oldest first-time World No 1 in men's doubles.
This is the first time, in 17 attempts, that Bopanna has reached the semi-finals in men's doubles at the Australian Open.
"This win gets me to the World No. 1 ranking once this tournament is done. I think for every player out there, it is a dream. It was my dream, and, you know, more so when you're playing the sport for couple of decades," he said on Wednesday.
"It hasn't sunk in fully, to be honest. We are very, very proud. I think Indian tennis, India needed this. 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."
In 2023, he became the oldest man to win an ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells and also participated as the oldest man in a Grand Slam final at the US Open.
MORE: From singles wilderness to World No 1 in doubles: Rohan Bopanna's journey to the top
The final ATP Rankings will be updated after the Australian Open on January 28, solidifying Bopanna's position at the pinnacle of men's doubles. Though Ebden and Bopanna have the same number of points, Bopanna will be crowned No 1 since he has played fewer tournaments.
Mahesh Bhupati also congratulated Bopanna and wrote on X: "@rohanbopanna
getting to World Number 1 today after 20 years on tour in my opinion is one of the greatest stories in Indian Sport!!! @AustralianOpen #Bofors"
@rohanbopanna getting to World Number 1 today after 20 years on tour in my opinion is one of the greatest stories in Indian Sport!!! @AustralianOpen #Bofors
— Mahesh Bhupathi (@Maheshbhupathi) January 24, 2024
How many Indians have taken the top spot in tennis?
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were the last Indian men's doubles pair to hold the top spot in the world, achieving this feat in 1999.
In the women's category, Sania Mirza made history by reaching No. 1 in the WTA Doubles Rankings in April 2015. She became the first Indian woman to attain this position. Remarkably, Mirza maintained her top-ranking status for nearly 21 months before eventually stepping down from the No. 1 spot in January 2017.
Today I complete 80 consecutive weeks as the number 1 player in d world👆its been an amazing journey and just inspires me to work harder @WTA pic.twitter.com/BsHoeU0YAT
— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) October 18, 2016