Bopanna wins his first championship as world No. 1 and advances to Australian Open men’s doubles final | Tennis News

A day after Rohan Bopanna secured the world number one ranking on Monday, becoming the oldest player to win the title for the first time in his career, the Indian tennis ace teamed up with Australia’s Matthew Ebden on Thursday for a sensational victory. I got it. Reached the Australian Open men’s doubles final for the first time. Bopanna and Ebden defeated Zhang Zhizhen and Thomas Machak 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) behind closed doors at Rod Laver Arena in the semi-finals. Reached the Grand Slam final.

Bopanna and Ebden’s strategy was clear: keep attacking players at the net. The experienced pair broke Machak’s serve in the fourth game of the match and took the lead after the Australian charged from behind with consecutive attacks. Forehand before drawing a forced error from Zhang’s backhand. Bopanna then served out the first set and won 6-3 in just 32 minutes.

In the second set, Macak and Chan returned with renewed energy, and the Czechs stepped up their attacks at the net, using their positioning to put pressure on Bopanna and Ebden. And the effort paid off, as the unseeded pair began a comeback in the match after breaking Ebden’s serve, which looked slightly off the mark for the first time in more than two weeks in Australia.

Bopanna and Ebden regained their rhythm in the final set, breaking Zhang’s serve in the fifth game and clinching a spot in the final with a 5-3 win. However, after Bopanna’s one-handed backhand crossed the baseline, the Chinese rallied themselves by plotting a breakback against Ebden’s serve, and from a 0-40 deficit once again took the second lead with a 4-5 serve. He was seeded and had three match points, then forced. Super tiebreak.

The India-Australia pair haven’t lost a tie-break in Melbourne this year, including a 10-point shootout in the opening match, with Bopanna and Ebden adapting well to the fast-moving Machak keeping his nerves. As a result, the record remained intact on Thursday. On the internet. The Indian ultimately clinched the victory with an ace.

With the victory at Rod Laver Arena, Lohan advances to his third men’s doubles final at a major tournament, after losing in the mixed doubles final last year alongside the legendary Sania Mirza in his last major tournament appearance. did. Bopanna became the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final when he partnered Ebden at the 2023 US Open. The pair lost to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. In the other match, the duo, famously known as the India Pak Express along with Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, lost to the Bryan brothers.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian-Australian pair defeated the Argentine pair of Maximo González and Andres Molteni 6-4, 7-6 (5), with the veteran Indian furthering his personal best and Bopanna taking the men’s lead. Became the new world number one in doubles. -So far, he has advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. In 17 consecutive appearances at Melbourne Park starting in 2008, the 43-year-old only made it to the third round in six different matches before losing five games in a row, the last time in 2018. Exit of the opening match.

Bopanna and Ebden will next face the winner of the second semi-final between Germany’s Dominik Koepfer and Yannick Hanfmann and Italy’s pairing of Andrea Vavassoli and Simone Borrelli, also at Rod Laver Arena. The Indian will be aiming to win his first men’s doubles Grand Slam trophy. However, he is a mixed doubles major winner, winning the French Open title with Gabriela Dombrowski in 2017. Ebden is also a mixed doubles major champion and holds the men’s doubles grand championship title. He previously won Wimbledon in 2022 with fellow Australian Max Purcell. If Bopanna, who turns 44 in March, can accomplish that, she will become the oldest player to win a Grand Slam men’s doubles title.