It is never too late to achieve your dreams, as Rohan Bopanna is proudly demonstrating at Australian Open 2024.
In his 17th Australian Open appearance, the 43-year-old has advanced to the men’s doubles semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time.
MORE: All the scores from Day 11 at AO 2024
The enduring Indian had never previously progressed beyond the third round in a men’s doubles draw at the tournament.
MORE: AO 2024 men's doubles draw
“Initially I struggled with the conditions, because it can be extremely windy, which doesn’t suit my game,” Bopanna explained of his Australian Open record.
“Now that I’m more mature, I’ve figured I need to stay strong no matter what the conditions are.”
Bopanna, who is partnering Australian Matthew Ebden, scored a 6-4 7-6(5) quarterfinal victory against sixth-seeded Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Wednesday.
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The triumph guarantees that Bopanna will rise to the top of the ATP Tour doubles rankings after the tournament, making him the oldest first-time world No.1 in history.
“I think for every player out there it is a dream,” Bopanna said of holding the No.1 ranking.
Bopanna, who entered the tournament at a career-high world No.3, credited his “perseverance to the sport, to stay in it and to keep fighting and to keep working hard”, as well as his strong partnership with Ebden for helping him reach the rankings pinnacle.
He told ausopen.com achieving the feat at the Australian Open, the Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific, was especially meaningful.
“It’s incredible no matter where you make it, but it’s even more special in a Grand Slam and I’m extremely proud to have done it in a Grand Slam which all of us players love,” Bopanna said.
“I’m really happy I could achieve it here in Melbourne.
“I have a lot of support here, today especially there was a lot of Indian fans, and playing with an Australian as well, you can’t beat that.”
Bopanna hopes his ranking breakthrough helps grow the sport in India, as well as serve as a reminder in the value of persistence.
“I think it's just going to inspire a lot of people,” he said. “I don't think just in tennis. People all over the world, you know, being 40 and above, I think it's just going to inspire them in a different way.”
Reigning champions clash
Two-time reigning Australian Open women’s doubles champions Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova found themselves on opposing sides of the court in this year’s quarterfinals.
Siniakova and her Australian partner Storm Hunter charged home to win a three-set battle against Krejcikova and German Laura Siegemund, winning the final five games in a dramatic 4-6 7-5 6-4 encounter.
“That was a very, very tough match,” world No.1 Hunter said. “We really had to dig deep and trust each other and fight really hard.”
Siniakova and Krejcikova won seven Grand Slam titles, as well as an Olympic gold medal, together before splitting at the end of last season.
MORE: AO 2024 women's doubles draw
“It was really tough,” Siniakova said of the experience of competing against her former partner.
“It’s not really nice to play against each other after such a long time, but that’s tennis. I’m just really happy that we won.”
Siniakova and Hunter’s progression sets up an intriguing semifinal showdown with the second seeds, world No.2 Elise Mertens and world No.6 Hsieh Su-wei.
Hunter and Mertens played together last season, winning two WTA 1000 titles and reaching the Wimbledon final.
The two are now battling for the world No.1 ranking, along with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski, and need to make the final to stay in contention to hold the coveted position at the tournament’s end.
Career Grand Slam in sight
American Desirae Krawcyzk is just one win away from completing a rare career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.
MORE: AO 2024 mixed doubles draw
Only five women – Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova, Daniela Hantuchova, Cara Black and Martina Hingis – have achieved this feat in the Open era.
The world No.16 and British partner Neal Skupski secured their spot in the mixed doubles final with a 6-4 6-1 victory against Aussie wildcards Olivia Gadecki and Marc Polmans.
This sets up a final clash with the third seeds, Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Su-wei and Poland’s Jan Zielinski, who ended the winning run of Aussie wildcards Jaimee Fourlis and Andrew Harris in the other semifinal.
“Darn, I thought I was going to play my boyfriend (Harris),” Krawcyzk commented when learning of their opponents.
This is the first Grand Slam mixed doubles final appearance for both 38-year-old Hsieh and 27-year-old Zielinski.
Mixed fortunes
While Zielinski is enjoying a career-best run in the mixed doubles competition, the world No.17’s men’s doubles campaign ended in the quarterfinals.
Unseeded German duo Yannick Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer continued their giant-killing run through the draw, knocking out seventh seeds Zielinski and Hugo Nys in straight sets at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be in the semis in a Slam in Australia,” world No.383 Koepfer said after eliminating the 2023 finalists.
“First time we've played doubles at a Grand Slam together. Played a couple tournaments before, but it’s new for us.”
Five of the eight players to advance to this year’s men’s doubles semifinals have never previously reached this stage at a Grand Slam tournament.