Australian Matt Ebden is through to the Australian Open 2024 men’s doubles semifinals alongside India’s Rohan Bopanna.
Melbourne, Australia, 24 January 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Matt Ebden and Rohan Bopanna are proving why they are one of the world’s best doubles teams at Australian Open 2024.
The second-seeded pair scored a 6-4 7-6(5) victory against Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, who are the co-ranked world No.13s, in men’s doubles quarterfinal action today at Melbourne Park.
There was only a single break of serve across the one-hour and 46-minute encounter, which world No.4 Ebden and world No.3 Bopanna secured early in the opening set.
“We’re just out here doing our thing. We’re fighting hard for each point, there’s always going to be tough moments against the best teams in the world,” Ebden said.
“But to fight it out here in front of our home crowd, here at the Australian Open in January, it couldn’t be better.”
This effort propels 36-year-old Ebden and 43-year-old Bopanna into their third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal and improves their recent record at major tournaments to 13 wins from their past 15 matches.
It also guarantees that Bopanna will rise to the top of the ATP Tour doubles rankings next week, overtaking American Austin Krajicek. This will make the enduring Indian the oldest player to debut at world No.1.
Ebden, meanwhile, is projected to climb to a career-high world No.2.
The Perth competitor also joins exclusive company as just the eighth Aussie to advance to multiple men’s doubles semifinals in Melbourne Park’s 36-year history.
| Australian Open men’s doubles Aussie to reach multiple semifinals at Melbourne Park (since 1988) |
|
| Player | Year |
| Brad Drewett | 1988, 1989 |
| Mark Kratzmann | 1989, 1993 |
| Mark Woodforde | 1989, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| Todd Woodbridge | 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 |
| Paul Hanley | 2006, 2007 |
| John Peers | 2017, 2019 |
| Max Purcell | 2020, 2022 |
| Matt Ebden | 2022, 2024 |
Surprise packets Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen await in the semifinals. Neither had won a Grand Slam-level doubles match prior to this tournament, but have eliminated two seeded teams in their incredible run to reach the final four.
The 23-year-old Machac is currently unranked in doubles, while 27-year-old Zhang is the world No.625. They entered the tournament using their singles rankings, which are inside the world’s top 80.
Ebden is aiming to…
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