Novak Djokovic, the defending men’s singles champion at the 2024 Australian Open, joined in on Wednesday to celebrate Rohan Bopanna’s remarkable performance at Melbourne Park, which led to the latter reaching his third Grand Slam final partnering Australia’s Matthew Ebden in men’s doubles. Bopanna became the oldest first-time world No. 1 in ATP men’s doubles history after defeating Argentinians Máximo González and Andrés Molteni in the quarterfinals.
The previous record was held by American Rajeev Ram, who defeated Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury in October 2022 to win the title for the first time in his career at the age of 38.
Amid the celebrations in India, Djokovic posted a funny story on Instagram on Wednesday, dedicated to Bopanna. The caption read, “Congratulations Bops. Amazing effort. And to do it at such a young age. Even more impressive.”
Speaking from Melbourne to the news agency PTI, Bopanna, who will take the top spot in the rankings on Monday regardless of the outcome of the final, said that his achievement at the age of 43 is just the boost Indian tennis needed at a time when it was starting to fall from radar.
He said, “It (the feat) means a lot not to just me but for Indian tennis also. You need something to inspire the next generation. Sumit (Nagal) also had a great Australian Open. He won a round.” He also added, “Extremely proud of this (world no.1 ranking in men’s doubles). It’s a special moment. Lot of sacrifices have gone into this. My coaches, family everyone. My family is travelling with me, so different feeling.”