US Open 2023: Rohan Bopanna becomes oldest male to reach Grand Slam final in Open Era

The ace tennis player reached his maiden men's doubles final back in 2010

India's Rohan Bopanna became the oldest male tennis player to reach the final of the grand slam in the Open Era at 43 years and 6 months, beating the record of former Canadian tennis player Daniel Nestor (43 years and 4 months) when he played in a grand slam final at the Australian Open in 2016.

The 43-year-old entered the final of the US Open 2023 along with his Australian partner Matthew Ebden with straight sets win over the French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (3), 6-2. Coincidently, Bopanna had previously reached the final of US Open in 2010, partnering Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan. Unfortunately they lost to the Bryan brothers of America. But after a gap of 13 years, the Indian is back to claim his first Major title in men's doubles.

In the post match interview, an emotional Bopanna thanked the crowd for showing up in numbers with great energy. The sixth seed iterated, "I love the city and it's great to be in the US Open finals after 13 years". A month back, the experienced pair of Bopanna and Ebden had reached the semi-finals of the Wimbledon earlier this year where they eventually lost to Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in straight sets.

Bopanna has also participated in the mixed doubles event of the US Open 2023, but faced an early exit in the second-round partnering Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi. The Indian has found good success in the mixed doubles having won a Major back in 2017. He also progressed to the final of Australian Open earlier this year alongside Sania Mirza but could not cross the final hurdle.

In the final on September 8th, the Indo-Aussie pair is set to take on experienced Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury at Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York