World No 1 At 43: Take A Look At Rohan Bopanna's Career Spanning Over Two Decades
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden on Thursday reached the Australian Open men's doubles final.
The India-Australia pair defeated Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic and Zhang Zhizhen of China 6-3 3-6 7-6 (10-7) to reach the final.
Rohan Bopanna, World No.1 At 43
The duo made their way into the final of the Australian Open a day after Bopanna made history by becoming the oldest tennis player to achieve the World Number 1 ranking.
Bopanna became the oldest number one in men's doubles history after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday at the age of 43.
The previous oldest men's doubles number one was US player Mike Bryan, who was 41.
Bopanna's 500th career win??
While becoming the oldest player to reach the top spot in men's doubles, Bopanna also achieved the feat of securing 500 career wins in professional tennis during the ongoing Australian Open.
The Indian veteran said the world number 1 ranking is the reward for being consistent.?
"I think nobody reaches the World no. 1 ranking without consistency, it doesn't happen overnight. I think today that is what is proven and that is why I was able to get to the ranking. I still have the opportunity to do so, today I am here sitting at the number 1 ranking because I had the opportunity to do so. Don't look what has gone by look what is ahead that is what I tell the young athletes," he said.
Rohan Bopanna's career
Bopanna, who hails from Karnataka started playing tennis at the age of 11 and turned professional when he was 19.
While he started playing in the professional circuits in 2000, Bopanna's major break came in 2002 when he was included in India's Davis Cup team. He also made his Asian Games debut the same year.
Bopanna made his Grand Slam debut in 2006 at the Australian Open, but could not proceed beyond the second round. He also made it to the Wimbledon and the French Open the same year but without much success as a singles player.
By 2007 Bopanna established himself as a doubles player and in 2008, won his first ATP Tour title with his partner Eric Butorac.
Indo-Pak Express
Bopanna continued his doubles success in 2010 with his Pakistani partner, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, with the duo being referred to as Indo-Pak Express.
They made it to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time in their careers at the Wimbledon Championships and to the final of the US Open the same year.
Before 2024, Bopanna's highest ranking was World No. 3 in doubles in 2013.
Oldest ATP Masters winner
In his career spanning over two decades, Bopanna has won 24 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including five at Masters 1000 level, with victory at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters making him the oldest title winner at this level.
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