Matt Ebden and John Peers reveal it’s “more than a dream” to add to Australia’s gold medal count at the Paris Olympics.
Paris, France, 4 August 2024 | Vivienne Christie
Amid the joyful celebrations that accompanied Matt Ebden and John Peers’ proudest career moments at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, attention for the Australian men quickly turned to their families.
Ebden’s wife, Kim, and two-year-old son, Harvey, were courtside as the pair proudly added to Australia’s gold-medal tally in Paris. Peers was supported by his wife Danielle and daughters Ellie and Harper.
“They’re going to be talking about this until we’re 100,” Peers smiled.
And what a story they’ll have from that special day at Roland Garros.
Ebden and Peers trailed by a set and a break of serve against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram before storming back to become the second Australian duo to win an Olympic gold medal in tennis.
It came 28 years after Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde had combined to win gold at Atlanta 2004.
You keep us all on the edge of our seats @mattebden @johnwpeers.
A thriller befitting for GOLD!!
Overjoyed for you guys.
@iocmedia @ITFTennis @TennisAustralia pic.twitter.com/nv7OD3owrk— Mark Woodforde (@MarkWoodforde) August 3, 2024
“It’s a blur. We’ve been lost for words … it was a super tough match, obviously, and I think a really high quality match,” said Ebden of the pair’s 6-7(6) 7-6(1) [10-8] comeback win over the No.4 seeds.
“We were up against it … we were losing for sure. But, you know, we kept believing, kept fighting, kept hanging strong.”
Victory for the unseeded Australians, both 36 years old, followed a straight-sets win over third-seeded American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the semifinals.
Krajicek and Ram, who have each held the world No.1 ranking in recent years, defeated high-profile Spanish pair Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
“It’s trippy. It’s more than a dream,” said Ebden, who has lifted doubles trophies at Wimbledon (with Max Purcell in 2022) and the Australian Open (with India’s Rohan Bopanna in 2024) and claimed gold on his Olympic debut in Paris.
“I didn’t even dream of winning a gold medal growing up or whatever, but obviously the last few years [I’ve] had great success on the doubles court and [that] give me a lot of belief and confidence.”
Peers, also a two-time Grand Slam…
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