Rohan Bopanna, 43, to becomes oldest Tennis world number one player

Rohan and his doubles partner  Matthew Ebden cruised to the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday which ensured the veteran becomes the oldest tennis player to achieve the world No. 1 ranking in men’s doubles.

The 43-year-old Bopanna, who had entered the tournament with a career-high ranking of world No. 3, put up a sensational show with his partner to beat Argentine pair Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

The match lasted for 1 hour and 46 minutes.

The Indo-Aussie pair will now face unseeded Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang in the semi-finals.

Bopanna, who has represented India in several major tournaments in his career, will be crowned the new numero uno in men’s doubles on Monday after the end of the tournament.

Indian sports icons praise Rohan Bopanna

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar praised Bopanna and posted on X: "Age is just a number but ‘Number 1’ is not just another number."

"Congratulations Rohan! Being the oldest World Number 1 in Men’s Doubles is a stellar feat," he said.

Tennis icon Mahesh Bhutani greeted Rohan and wrote on X: "@rohanbopannagetting to World Number 1 today after 20 years on tour in my opinion is one of the greatest stories in Indian Sport!!!@AustralianOpen#Bofors."

Tennis star Sania Mirza wished him by writing on X: "So proud Ro no one deserves it more."