 "Australian Open 2024: Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden power into men's doubles final")
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden made their way into the final of the Australian Open men’s doubles event after a nervous, edge-of-the-seat semi-final against Tomas Machac and Zhizhen Zhang.
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
The Indo-Aussie pairing were broken when serving for the match but came through in the 10-point tiebreak to win 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7). It is Bopanna’s first foray into the Australian Open final in 17 attempts. Fittingly, he was assured of a spot at the top of the rankings on Wednesday in the 21st year of his pro career. He will climb the top pedestal when rankings are updated on Monday making the 43-year-old the oldest World No. 1 in the sport .
Persistence pays off đź’Ş@rohanbopanna reaches his first #AusOpen men's doubles final in his 17th attempt! pic.twitter.com/lSZtqgpNHE
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2024
Bopanna and Ebden will play the winner of Andrea Vavassori/Simone Bolelli and Yannick Hanfmann/Dominik Koepfer in the final. “The match was really tough and intense. Both the guys were returning very flat and hard which made it difficult for us but we kept our focus despite being up a break. Unfortunately me losing serve at 5-3 but credit to them for the way they returned in that game. At 5-4 0-40, we had those match points, Zhang came up with big serves and played really well,” said Bopanna later in Melbourne. “Overall, in the end, Matt and I have played many tiebreaks over the years (so that) definitely helped us come through. Playing more of such matches makes a huge difference and glad to be back in the final of a Grand Slam with Matt. Looking forward to playing the final on Saturday.”
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