Rohan Bopanna makes maiden Australian Open men’s doubles final after first win as new world No. 1

The second seed beat Zhizhen and Machac 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) in the semifinal as Bopanna and Ebden reached their second consecutive Grand Slam final together.

A day after Rohan Bopanna was assured of the world No. 1 ranking come Monday, making him the oldest man to take the crown for the first time in his career, the Indian tennis ace notched up a sensational win partnering Australia’s Matthew Ebden on Thursday to reach his maiden Australian Open final in men’s doubles. The second seed beat Zhang Zhizhen and Tomas Machac 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) under the closed roof at the Rod Laver Arena in the semifinal as Bopanna and Ebden reached their second consecutive Grand Slam final together.

The strategy was clear from Bopanna and Ebden, to keep attacking the player at the net, and the experienced duo drew first blood as they broke Machac’s serve in the fourth game of the match after the Aussie charged from behind with back-to-back aggressive forehands before drawing a forced error off Zhang’s backhand. Bopanna later served out the opening set, comfortably winning it 6-3 in just 32 minutes. Stay tuned for all the latest updates on Ram Mandir!

Machac and Zhang came with renewed energy in the second set, with the Czech more attacking at the net, putting pressure on Bopanna and Ebden with his positionings. And the efforts bore fruit as the unseeded pair launched a comeback in the match after breaking Ebden’s serve, which looked slightly off the mark for the first time in over a fortnight in Australia.

Bopanna and Ebden found their rhythm back in the final set, breaking Zhang’s serve in the fifth game to serve for a place in the final at 5-3. However, the Chinese reprieved himself by orchestrating the break back against Ebden’s serve after Bopanna’s one-handed backhand sailed over the baseline, and then again from 0-40 down on his serve at 4-5 with the second seed on three match points before forcing a super tiebreak.

The Indo-Aussie pair never lost a tiebreaker in Melbourne this year, which included a a 10-point shootout in their opener, and the record remained intact on Thursday as well with the Bopanna and Ebden holding nerves and adjusting well to a fast-moving Machac at the nets. The Indian eventually sealed the victory with an ace.

With the win on the Rod Laver Arena, where he had lost the mixed doubles final last year alongside the legendary Sania Mirza, who then made her final Slam appearance, Rohan reached his third men’s doubles final at a major. Partnering Ebden, it had happened in the 2023 US Open, where Bopanna became the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final. The pair had lost to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. The other was alongside Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi where the duo, famously called the Indo-Pak Express, had lost to the Bryan brothers.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bopanna became the new world No. 1 in men’s doubles after the Indo-Aussie pair beat the Argentinian duo of Máximo González and Andrés Molteni 6-4, 7-6 (5) as the veteran Indian improved further on his best-ever Australian Open run with a semifinal qualification. In 17 consecutive appearances at Melbourne Park, the first of which was in 2008, the 43-year-old only managed to reach as far as the third round, on six different occasions, the last in 2018 before incurring an array of five-straight opening-round exits.

Bopanna and Ebden will next face the winner of the second semifinal between Germany’s Dominik Koepfer and Yannick Hanfmann, and Italian combination of Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli at the very same Rod Laver Arena. The Indian would be eyeing his first men’s doubles Grand Slam trophy. He is, however, a mixed doubles major winner, having lifted the 2017 French Open title alongside Gabriela Dabrowski. Ebden, also a mixed doubles major winner, has a men’s doubles Slam title to his name. He had won Wimbledon in 2022 with fellow Aussie Max Purcell. If Bopanna, who turns 44 in March, does manage to do just that, he would become the oldest player to win a Grand Slam men’s doubles title.

With Thanks Reference to: https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports/tennis/rohan-bopanna-makes-maiden-australian-open-mens-doubles-final-after-first-win-as-new-world-no-1-101706153340270.html