In the men’s doubles final of the Australian Open, India’s Rohan Bopanna won his first Grand Slam title in men’s doubles as he, along with Matthew Ebden, beat the all-Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final on Saturday (27th January 2024) evening.
At 43, Bopanna became the oldest winner of a men’s doubles grand slam in the Open era, and will be the oldest No 1 when rankings are updated in the coming week.
At the start of 2023, the duo teamed up and advanced to the final of the US Open, marking a triumphant season that propelled them higher in the rankings. Despite possessing an equal number of ranking points, Bopanna is set to claim the top spot as Ebden participated in three additional tournaments during the calculation period.
Although Bopanna secured the French Open mixed doubles title in 2017, he expressed that this year’s victory at Melbourne Park surpasses even that accomplishment.
“Without a doubt, [it is] the best moment in my career. There are so many thoughts which are running in the head, it’s as if it’s ready to explode,” he said. “I guess when you win, this is what happens. I’ve ever been on this side of life so it’s nice to do this.”
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka crushes Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to defend Australian Open title. She became the first woman to do so in more than a decade . The 25-year-old Belarusian defending champion and world number two Aryna Sabalenka defeated Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 to win the Australian Open women’s singles title in Melbourne on Saturday. Sabalenka took just 33 minutes to race through a 6-3 win in the first set at Melbourne Park.
This is Sabalenka’s second Grand Slam title while Zheng was gunning for a first. Sabalenka became the first woman to defend the Australian Open title since 2013.
