Premier doubles player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have clinched a spot in the prestigious season-ending ATP Finals 2024, marking the Indian’s fourth appearance in the tournament.
The Indo-Aussie duo secured their place after Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow were eliminated at the Paris Masters, finalising the 2024 field.
The ATP Finals 2024, set for November 10-17 at the Inalpi Arena, feature only the top eight doubles teams globally. Bopanna and Ebden launched their season with a bang, winning the Australian Open as the Indian became the oldest man at 43 years, 331 days to become a world No 1.
Bopanna and Ebden later added a Miami Open title to their resume. They also reached the final in Adelaide and the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
This marks their second consecutive year qualifying for the ATP Finals; in 2023, they reached the semi-finals in Turin before being defeated by Granollers and Zeballos.
For Bopanna, this event holds special significance as he eyes his maiden ATP Finals title. Previously, he finished as the finalist in 2012 with Mahesh Bhupathi and again in 2015 alongside Florin Mergea.
Bopanna’s ATP Finals journey began in 2011 with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. Meanwhile, Bopanna and Ebden will face the Brazilian-German pair of Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev in a Round of 16 match at the Paris Masters on Tuesday.
For the unknown, Bopanna has already announced his retirement from India tennis, following his early exit at the Paris Olympics earlier this year. “This will definitely go down as my last event for the country. I totally understand where I am and now, I am just going to be enjoying the tennis circuit as long as that goes.
“This is already a big bonus for where I am. I never even thought that I’ll be representing India for two decades. Right from 2002, making my debut and 22 years later still getting to represent India. I’m extremely proud of that,” he had said.
