"To do it at such a young age, even more impressive" - Novak Djokovic pulls Rohan Bopanna's leg after Indian makes history as oldest World No. 1

Novak Djokovic recently lauded Rohan Bopanna for becoming the oldest man to achieve the World No. 1 ranking in doubles. In a witty remark, the Serb not only extended his congratulations but also humorously said it was impressive to reach such a milestone at the "young" age of 43.

Bopanna is currently playing doubles at the 2024 Australian Open. He and his partner, Australia's Matthew Ebden, advanced to the semifinals of the tournament after defeating Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in straight sets on Wednesday, January 24.

Following that, Djokovic shared a post on his Instagram story and playfully teased Bopanna by saying that being a World No. 1 at such a "young age" is "impressive."

"Congratulations Bops, Amazing effort. And to do it at such a young age. Even more impressive," Djokovic wrote, adding a bunch of emojis.

Rohan Bopanna has had a successful career in both doubles and mixed doubles. At the 2017 French Open, the Indian clinched his first Grand Slam title in mixed doubles, partnering with Gabriela Dabrowski. He also reached two other mixed doubles finals, at the 2018 and 2023 Australian Opens.

In the doubles category, Bopanna's notable achievements include reaching the final of the US Open in both 2010 and 2023. Over the course of his career, he has accumulated a total of 24 doubles titles.

While speaking to the press after their quarterfinal win, Bopanna stated that his World No. 1 record will be an inspiration to people outside of tennis as well, especially those above 40.

"It’s just going to inspire a lot of people, and I don’t think just in tennis. People all over the world, being 40 and above, it’s just going to inspire them in a different way," Bopanna said.

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Novak Djokovic will face Jannik Sinner in Australian Open 2024 SF

Novak Djokovic will face Jannik Sinner in the semifinal of the 2024 Australian Open on Friday, January 26, as he aims to win the tournament for a record 11th time.

Djokovic has defeated Dino Prizmic, Alexei Popyrin, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Adrian Mannarino and Taylor Fritz on his way to the last four. Meanwhile, Sinner has secured victories against Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper De Jong, Sebastian Baez, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.

The duo have faced off six times on the ATP Tour, with the 36-year-old winning on four occasions. In 2023, Djokovic defeated Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinal and the ATP Finals' final in Turin, while Sinner won in the year-end tournament's round-robing stage and the Davis Cup semifinals.