Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna along with his Aussie partner Matthew Ebden have secured their entry into the Men’s Doubles summit clash at the ongoing 2024 Australian Open following a nail-biting win against ZZ Zhang and Tomas Machac at the Rod Laver Arena.
Currently ranked No. 3 in the world, the Bopanna-Ebden duo reached their second consecutive Grand Slam final following the 2023 US Open, courtesy of the thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win, overcoming a tough challenge from Zhang and Machac in their dramatic semifinal clash on Thursday.
That FINALS feeling 🙌@rohanbopanna/@mattebden prevail 6-3 3-6 7-6[10-7] over Machac/Zhang to reach the men's doubles final!#AusOpen • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/VcZ0uUxrfp
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2024
Bopanna and Ebden had the early advantage in the match. Starting on an offensive note, the pair secured their first set to by a comfortable 6-3 margin. The Zhang-Machac duo, however, bounced back very strongly in the second set and repeated the scoreline of the first set to even the odds.
In the third and decider set, it was once again an early lead from Bopanna-Ebden, although Zhang and Machac were yet to let go of the match, as the Chinese-Czech duo rallied from a trail of 1-4 to take the set into tie breaker.
The nail biting tie-breaker saw some incredible shot creation from Bopanna and Ebden, emerging victorious in the tie breaker 10-7 to secure the decider set as well as winning their ticket to the summit clash.
In the final of the Men’s Doubles event, Bopanna and Ebden will lock horns against the winner of Italian duo Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli vs. the all-German pair of Dominik Koepfer and Yannick Hanfmann.
(more to follow)
