MELBOURNE: The paths of tennis' No. 1s crossed at Melbourne Park on Thursday. Novak Djokovic is ranked No. 1 in singles and Rohan Bopanna will take over the No. 1 ranking in doubles come Monday when the 43-year-old debuts atop the ATP doubles rankings. He'll be the oldest No. 1 in history.
The 36-year-old Serb and the 43-year-old Indian, who between them are closing in on 80 years of experience, are the walking, talking advert for longevity. Djokovic, going for a 25th major title, congratulated Bopanna's run. "What you've done is amazing!" he ex- claimed. The Serb then raised his praise-play a notch. "You have your whole career ahead of you," he said. "It's amazing to do it at such a young age. I don't know how you've done it!"
Bopanna said, "I call it Level 43." Novak laughed out loud. "Level 43! I love it. I'm Level 36!"
Bopanna nodded. "Before you retire, we play once together?" Djokovic floated the idea of the duo partnering once. "200 percent!" Bopanna returned. "You still have many levels left! Level 50-plus?" Djokovic asked. "At 50-plus, I will be playing tennis, Novak. I will not be a tennis player," Bopanna said.
