Rohan Bopanna and Australian partner Matthew Ebden defeated Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets to advance to the Miami Open men’s doubles final.
The Australian Open champions, Bopanna and Ebden, breezed past Spain’s Granollers and Argentina’s Zeballos 6-1 6-4 in the semifinals on Thursday night.
Bopanna had dropped to second place in the doubles rankings following a quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Championships and a round-of-32 exit at the Indian Wells Masters.
Still, his semifinal victory here will help him reclaim the top spot when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Following his win at the Australian Open, the 44-year-old Bopanna became the oldest player to reach the top of the ATP rankings.
In the final, Bopanna and Ebden will face Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and American Austin Krajicek, who defeated Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz 6-4 6-7(7) 10-7 in the other semifinal.
This will be Bopanna’s 14th ATP Masters 1000 final, and the first in Miami. Overall, it will be his 63rd ATP Tour final. He has won 25 doubles titles.
Bopanna and Ebden will make their fifth appearance in an ATP Masters 1000 final.
Bopanna also accomplished a rare feat, becoming the second Indian, after Leander Paes, to reach the finals of all nine ATP Masters events.
