 "Rohan Bopanna (L) and Matthew Ebden (R) in a file photo from the 2024 Australian Open. Image: SonyLiv")
Rohan Bopanna and his Australian teammate Matthew Ebden advanced to their third men’s doubles semi-final this year, beating Sem Verbeek and John-Patrick Smith at the Miami Open.
The duo, who had won the Australian Open earlier in the year, overcame several unforced errors in the first set to win the quarter-final 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.
The victory for the 44-year-old Bopanna, currently ranked World No. 2, will ensure he stays in the top-10 in ATP doubles rankings and qualify directly for the Paris Olympics in July-August. The cut-off date for rankings to be considered for direct Olympic qualification is 10 June.
Bopanna-Ebden, the top seeds in Miami, didn’t serve particularly well but came up with breaks at crucial junctures in the second set to take the match into the tie-breaker before winning it and drawing level.
Bopanna, who had clinched top ranking after success in Melbourne, had dropped a place after quarter-final loss in Dubai and a Round of 32 exit in Indian Wells.
The Indo-Australian pair will meet the winners of the match between Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos and Lloyd Glasspool/Jean-Julien Rojer in the last-four.
Bopanna and Ebden had also reached the last-four of the Adelaide Open in January and made the final before losing to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.