Newly crowned Australian Open, men's doubles champion Rohan Bopanna's "remarkable journey is a beautiful reminder that it is always our spirit, hard work and perseverance that define our capabilities,' wrote Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) Saturday. (More Tennis News)
Bopanna became only the third Indian to win a men's doubles Grand Slam title, taking the Australian Open 2024 title with Aussie partner Matthew Ebden following their straight-sets win over Italian pair Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.
Congratulating the designated oldest world number one "on his historic Australian Open win", the PM said, "Time and again, the phenomenally talented" Rohan Bopanna "shows age is no bar!"
In a high-quality game of tennis, second-seeded Bopanna and Ebden won 7-6(0) 7-5 in the final that lasted one hour and 39 minutes. In the process, Bopanna also became the oldest Grand Slam champion in men's tennis. He bettered the record of Jean-Julien Rojer who, at the age of 40, had lifted the French Open men's doubles trophy in 2022 with Marcelo Arevola.
Only the iconic Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have won Major titles for India in men's tennis while trailblazer Sania Mirza did it in women's tennis. For Bopanna it is his second Grand Slam title, having won the French Open mixed doubles with Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski in 2017.
Bopanna will be crowned the new number one in men's double on Monday when the ATP rankings will be updated. At 43, he will be the oldest player to be ranked world number one.
(With PTI inputs)
