Rohan Bopanna advanced to the Australian Open final for the first time, a day after sealing his status as next week’s new world No. 1 in doubles. The Indian and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden defeated Zhang Zhizhen of China and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10-7) in the men’s doubles semi-final. The second-seeded pair will face the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the final on Saturday, searching for their first Grand Slam championship together. Bopanna and Ebden have reached their second consecutive Slam final, having previously done so at the 2023 US Open, where they lost to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury due to a set up.
The 43-year-old Indian is in his third major men’s doubles final, looking for his first Grand Slam win after falling just short at the 2010 US Open. If he crosses the line on Saturday, Bopanna will be the oldest player to win a Grand Slam doubles title in history. According to tournament officials, Bopanna and Ebden, 36, will become the oldest world No. 1 doubles team in history (with a combined age of 79 years) at the end of the event.