5 September 2023 | Tennis West
Australian Matt Ebden and Indian partner Rohan Bopanna have progressed to the men’s doubles semifinals at US Open 2023.
Australian Matt Ebden has advanced to the US Open men’s doubles semifinals for the first time in his career.
The 35-year-old from Perth is enjoying an impressive run at Flushing Meadows alongside Indian partner Rohan Bopanna.
The sixth seeds scored a remarkable 7-6(10) 6-1 victory today against American combination Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in the quarterfinals.
World No.11 Ebden and world No.14 Bopanna bravely saved seven set points in a fiercely contested opening set.
They recovered from a 0-40 deficit on Ebden’s serve at 5-6, then survived another four set points in a tense 22-point tiebreak.
Their courageous efforts dramatically changed the momentum of the match.
World No.30 Lammons and world No.31 Withrow were left dispirited. The No.15 seeds had not been broken on serve throughout this tournament, but conceded two breaks in the second set.
This helped Ebden and Bopanna close out victory in one hour and 28 minutes.
Ebden and Bopanna finished the match with 10 aces and saved all nine break points they faced.
“We have a never-say-die attitude,” Ebden explained of their steely performance.
“We believe in ourselves under pressure, we know we can do it. We just hang tough and fight as hard as we can on every point.”
Ebden becomes just the seventh Australian to advance to a US Open men’s doubles semifinal in the past 25 years.
His previous best result in New York was a quarterfinal appearance alongside fellow Aussie Max Purcell in 2021.
French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the US Open 2015 champions, await in the semifinals.
This will be Ebden and Bopanna’s first meeting against the five-time Grand Slam champions, who are contesting only their fourth tournament together this year.
Ebden and Bopanna have been one of the world’s most consistent teams throughout the 2023 season, winning two titles from four final appearances. They were also semifinalists at Wimbledon.
“I know we’ll have a tough match against them, but with the way we’re playing, I definitely think we have a fantastic shot,” Bopanna said.
In the mixed doubles competition, Ellen Perez fell agonisingly short of progressing to a career-first semifinal alongside Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands.
Perez and Rojer were close to causing a major upset over American No.1 seeds Jessica Pegula and Austin Krajicek, before being edged out 6-4 3-6 [10-8].
The run to the quarterfinals is a career-best result for the 27-year-old Australian.
COMING UP
Men’s doubles, semifinals
[6] Matt Ebden (AUS)/Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
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