Rohan Bopanna created history on Sunday, 19th March 2023 by becoming the oldest Tennis player to win the ATP 100 male doubles title. Bopanna achieved the milestone by winning the men’s doubles crown with fellow Australian Matt Ebden at Indian Wells 2023. Bopanna, 43, and Ebden, 35, defeated top-seeded Wesley Koolh of the Netherlands and Neil Skupski of Great Britain 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in Saturday’s final. “Special. It’s called Tennis Paradise for a reason,” said Bopanna, who played in his 10th ATP Masters 1000 final. “I’ve come here over the years and watched all these guys win for so many years. I’m very happy that Matt and I made it and got this title here.
“They were tough games, close games. Today we play against one of the best teams out there. Very happy to have won the cup.” Bopanna overtook Daniel Nestor of Canada, who won the 2015 Cincinnati Masters, to become the oldest champion at 42. “I spoke to Danny Néstor and told him I’m sorry I’m going to break his record,” he joked. “Winning the title stays with me, so I’m very happy about it. It was the 43-year-old’s fifth Masters 1000 doubles title and his first since winning Monte Carlo in 2017. This marked the third final of the year for the Indo-Australian duo. You now have 24 tour-level trophies in your closet. (Read Also: World’s top 10 Badminton players till today)
The Indian-Australian pair stunned two-time Desert champions John Isner and Jack Sock in the semi-finals while beating Canadian singles stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals.
Bopanna and Ebden had defeated Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernández in their opening game. Bopanna, a former world No. 3, jumped four spots to No.11 in the Pepperstone ATP Live doubles rankings.
