Already the oldest tennis world number one and oldest Grand Slam men's doubles finalist in the Open Era, Rohan Bopanna is gunning for more glory. The ever-green Indian tennis star will take the court early Thursday morning at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne for the Australian Open semi-final as he inches closer to the elusive Slam in men's doubles title. Giving him company will be his Australian partner Matthew Ebden. (More Tennis News)
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden's Australian Open 2024, men's doubles semi-final match will be telecast live. Here's all you need to know about the match and telecast details:
The second-seeded Indo-Australian defeated Argentinian sixth seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the quarter-finals 6-4, 7-6 (5) to set up a semis date with unseeded Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic and Zhizhen Zhang of China.
A win today, and Bopanna can realistically aim to become the oldest player to win a Grand Slam title -- one that is currently held by Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer, who won the 2022 French Open men's doubles title at the age of 40 years and nine months. For the record, Bopanna is also the oldest to play in a Grand Slam final, a feat that he achieved at the 2023 US Open. He was 43 years and six months old.
On March 4, Bopanna will turn 44. And the Australian Open final is scheduled for January 27. But to reach there, Bopanna and Ebden will need to beat Machac and Zhang first.
Bopanna is also chasing a maiden Grand Slam title in the men's doubles. He does have a Slam trophy in his cabinet, though, which he earned at Roland Garros in 2017 by winning the French Open mixed doubles title with Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada.
When is Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden vs Tomas Machac-Zhang Zhizhen, Australia Open 2024 men's semi-final match?
The Australian Open 2024, men's doubles semi-final match between Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden and Tomas Machac-Zhang Zhizhen is on January 25, 2024.
What is the start time for Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden vs Tomas Machac-Zhang Zhizhen, Australia Open 2024 men's semi-final match?
The scheduled start time for Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden vs Tomas Machac-Zhang Zhizhen tennis match today is 7:30 am IST.
How to watch the Bopanna-Ebden Vs Machac-Zhizhen, Australian Open 2024 Grand Slam tennis match on TV and online?
In India, the Bopanna-Ebden Vs Machac-Zhizhen match can be watched on Sony Sports channels (TV) and SonyLiv (live streaming). Elsewhere, the match is available on ESPN and Tennis TV (USA), Eurosport (United Kingdom), TSN and RDS (Canada).
Later in the day, the Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will take on German dou Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer in a battle of unseeded teams for a place in Saturday's final.
For the record
Bopanna will be crowned the new world number one, and also the oldest to occupy the numero uno spot in the ATP men's doubles world rankings on Monday after the end of the season's first Grand Slam tournament.
The previous oldest men's doubles number one was Mike Bryan of the United States of America, at 41 years and 76 days. But the record for the oldest player to be ranked world number one in tennis belongs to multiple Paralympic Games gold medal winner, American David Wagner. He was 44 in 2018 when rocked the charts in the quad wheelchair rankings.
For what's worth, Roger Federer is the oldest men's singles number one at 36 and Serena Williams the oldest women's singles number one at 35.
