By Richard Paglaro | @TennisNow | Saturday, August 3, 2024
Photo credit: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty
Perth neighbors Matthew Ebden and John Peers rode a red-clay comeback route to strike gold for Australia.
Down a set and a 2-4, Aussie pair Ebden and Peers staged a fierce rally fending off Team USA’s Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 10-8 to win the Paris Olympic doubles gold medal in a dramatic duel at Roland Garros.
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The Americans saved three gold-medal points rallying from 5-9 down to 8-9 in the decisive 10-point match tiebreaker.
Then Peers delivered instant redemption.
Peers, who missed an easy point-blank volley on the third match point, came right back with a tremendous deep volley that caught the baseline before he smashed away the final shot delivering Australia’s first mens’ doubles gold medal in 28 years.
The long-time friends and neighbors are the first Aussies to win the doubles gold medals since Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
When it was over, the Aussie pair embraced then celebrated with a family group hug hoisting their kids in the air.
“It’s amazing to have the family and friends in the crowd. Matt’s son is here as well,” Peers told NBC’s Britney Eurtock afterward. “We got to share it with our families. Matt and I were just saying: We can’t believe it. It’s what we hoped for a few months ago, but now it’s a reality. We’re actually gold medalists.”
It’s a gut-wrenching loss for Krajicek and Ram, who built a one-set, 4-2 lead and were two holds from gold.
“You play your heart out for your country in these moments,” Ram said. “We were so close but we couldn’t quite get it. It’s wonderful to win the silver because I feel we genuinely won the silver, but it’s tough.”
Krajicek and Ram, who knocked off 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and four-time major title holder Carlos Alcaraz, en route to the gold-medal match fell behind 2-6 in the super tiebreaker and could not quite close the gap.
“It’s incredible and like Raj said this one hurts a lot: there are no words to describe it,” Krajicek told Britney Eurtock. “We left it all out there. We gave ourselves a chance at the end, but that’s tennis.
“It’s a wicked sport and tough way to make a living, but it’s still an honor to be out there and win the silver.”
The fourth-seeded Americans drew first-break blood for 4-2, but Aussies Ebden and Peers broke right back in…
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