Australian Open 2024: Rohan Bopanna- Matt Ebden storm into semi-finals

Published at :January 24, 2024 at 1:17 PM

Modified at :January 25, 2024 at 12:19 PM

(Courtesy : AITA_Tennis/ Twitter)

The 43-year-old was assured of No. 1 after Quarterfinals win in the Australian Open

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden are on the verge of creating tennis history as they reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open 2024 men’s doubles with a thrilling 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Wednesday

The second-seeded Indo-Australian pair, who has been in sublime form throughout the tournament, overcame a spirited challenge from the sixth-seeded Argentinians.

In the first set, Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden were unstoppable as they did not lose a single service game. The Indo-Australian team, who had faced some tough challenges in the previous rounds in Melbourne, seemed focused and motivated as they put the Argentine pair under constant pressure.

They were down 1-2 when they switched courts, but they quickly adapted to the larger Margaret Court Arena. They dominated their Serves and took the first set 6-4.

Bopanna and Ebden showed great teamwork and understanding as they communicated well and executed some brilliant shots. Bopanna was flawless with his serves and hit some amazing winners from both sides of the court.

Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni improved their game as the match went on and did not concede a game in the second set, forcing a tie-break.

In the tie-break, Bopanna and Ebden were behind by two mini-breaks, but they rallied to win three points in a row from 4-5 and clinched the set and the match.

The duo, who have won four titles together since teaming up last year, are now assured of becoming the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked doubles players respectively when the new ATP rankings are released next week.

Bopanna, who will turn 44 in March, will become the oldest player ever to achieve the top spot in doubles, surpassing the record of Rajeev Ram, who became no 1 at 38 years of age in 2022.

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Ebden, who is 34, will also reach a career-high ranking of No. 2, making him the highest-ranked Australian doubles player since Todd Woodbridge in 2005.

Bopanna and Ebden will face the unseeded combination of Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic and Zhizhen Zhang of China in the semi-finals on Friday. Machac and Zhang, who are playing their first Grand Slam together, upset the third-seeded pair of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the second round.

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