{"id":19839,"date":"2024-08-04T16:21:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-04T08:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/?p=19839"},"modified":"2024-08-04T16:21:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-04T08:21:53","slug":"was-matt-ebden-and-john-peers-crowned-gold-medalists-at-paris-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/news\/2024\/08\/04\/was-matt-ebden-and-john-peers-crowned-gold-medalists-at-paris-olympics","title":{"rendered":"WA’s Matt Ebden and John Peers Crowned Gold Medalists at Paris Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perth neighbours Matt Ebden and John Peers are celebrating a delightful gold medal, becoming only the second Australian tennis champions at the Olympics.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The two unseeded 36-year-olds, stalwarts of the doubles scene, enjoyed a crowning moment as they rallied to beat American fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (6) 7-6 (1) [10-8] in a nail-biting Roland Garros men\u2019s doubles gold medal match on Saturday.<\/p>\n

They became the only Australian gold medallists in Olympic tennis after \u2018The Woodies\u2019, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde lifted the 1996 title in the same event in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an absolute honour. Anytime we get mentioned along with same breath as those two, they paved the way for us,\u201d said Peers.<\/p>\n

Between them, Peers and Ebden have won a hatful of titles, including Grand Slams, but they\u2019d never had a moment quite like this.<\/p>\n

Their wives and kids were on hand to hug them on Court Philippe Chatrier, one of the world\u2019s great tennis amphitheatres, after they prevailed in three tiebreaks in the most entertaining of showdowns.<\/p>\n

Asked if it was his best tennis moment, Ebden smiled: \u201cIt probably is. Winnings Slams, winning Wimbledon, we\u2019ve been into the Davis Cup finals the last couple of years \u2026. but I mean, the Olympics? Gold? Really?<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\u201cIt only comes around once every four years and even just to play it is ridiculous. To win a gold medal, I think it\u2019s like folklore. It\u2019s beyond me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s trippy. It\u2019s more than a dream,\u201d said Ebden, who has lifted doubles trophies at Wimbledon (with Max Purcell in 2022) and the Australian Open (with India\u2019s Rohan Bopanna in 2024) and claimed gold on his Olympic debut in Paris.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even dream of winning a gold medal growing up or whatever, but obviously the last few years [I\u2019ve] had great success on the doubles court and [that] give me a lot of belief and confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

And to do it with Peers, a Melburnian buddy who now lives a street away from him in Perth, with their wives and children having become the best of friends too, it was all extra special.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome miracle work has happened and somehow we\u2019ve now got a gold medal for our streets,\u201d beamed Ebden.<\/p>\n

Peers, also a two-time Grand Slam champion after winning Australian Open 2017 with Henri Kontinen and US Open 2022 mixed doubles title with Storm Sanders, added to an Olympics career that saw him claim bronze in mixed doubles alongside Ash Barty at Tokyo 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win a gold medal \u2026 I think it\u2019s like folklore,\u201d said Peers, who was also a part of Australia\u2019s Olympic tennis team at Rio in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me to be able to do that and say that we\u2019re gold medallists, I mean, doing it for the green and gold in Australia and the people back home, that\u2019s what we play the sport for.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hard-earned one, too. The huge sign on Chatrier says \u201cVictory belongs to the most tenacious\u201d and that was definitely the case here as the Aussie duo clawed back from a set and 4-2 down, when all seemed lost with the American Davis Cup pair beginning to dominate.<\/p>\n

But the Australians, who\u2019d played a few tournaments together and reached a couple of finals, just wouldn\u2019t lie down, with Ebden relighting their fire, playing a brilliant game in the second set to help break Ram for 4-4 before exhorting the crowd, including plenty of compatriots, to get behind them.<\/p>\n

Down to a second tiebreak, Perth\u2019s Ebden and Melbourne\u2019s Peers began to play their best tennis to drop just one point and take the match into a super tiebreak finale, with the gold for the first to 10 points.<\/p>\n

It looked plain sailing when Peers and Ebden raced into an 8-3 lead, including one astonishing piece of retrieving from the back of the court by a scrambling Peers that enabled them to prevail in a seemingly unwinnable point.<\/p>\n

But nerves kicked in as the Americans hit back and saved three match points. Ebden agonisingly missed the easiest volley of all at 9-7.<\/p>\n

With Ellie, one of his two little daughters in the stand crossing her fingers for dad, Peers then dug his mate out of a potential hole by putting away the winning smash at 9-8 before the two old pals jumped into each other\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

Peers wanted the moment to inspire his biggest fans. \u201cI hope it can make them dream big and know the sky\u2019s the limit, that they can do anything they want to put their minds to,\u201d said one proud dad.<\/p>\n

\"\"

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Matthew Ebden and John Peers of Team Australia celebrate victory with their children following the Tennis Men’s Doubles Gold Medal match against Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of Team United States on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ebden and Peers were equally thrilled to add to the broader team spirit in Paris, where Australia has claimed at least one gold medal on each day so far of the 2024 Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s always watching each other, always supporting each other. Someone comes back to the village with a medal, everyone\u2019s there cheering as soon as they\u2019re there,\u201d said Peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really tight-knit group and I know Australia\u2019s had an unbelievable history in the Olympics and in sport as a whole. We\u2019re a proud sporting nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having absorbed their own Olympic spirit while watching other Australians compete throughout their respective childhoods, Ebden and Peers are especially proud to have set such a successful example to their families.<\/p>\n

As Peers noted of the biggest lesson he hoped that seven-year-old Ellie would take away from her courtside experience: \u201cDream big and just know anything\u2019s possible when you put your mind to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid the joyful celebrations that accompanied Matt Ebden and John Peers\u2019 proudest career moments at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, attention for the Australian men quickly turned to their families.<\/p>\n

Ebden\u2019s wife, Kim, and two-year-old son, Harvey, were courtside as the pair proudly added to Australia\u2019s gold-medal tally in Paris. Peers was supported by his wife Danielle and daughters Ellie and Harper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to be talking about this until we\u2019re 100,\u201d Peers smiled.<\/p>\n

And what a story they\u2019ll have from that special day at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

\"\"

PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 03: Gold medallists Matthew Ebden and John Peers of Team Australia (C), Silver medallists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of Team United States (L), and Bronze medallists of Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul of Team United States (R) pose on the podium during the Tennis Men’s Doubles medal ceremony after the Tennis Men’s Doubles matches on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Roland Garros on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perth neighbours Matt Ebden and John Peers are celebrating a delightful gold medal, becoming only the second Australian tennis champions at the Olympics. The two unseeded 36-year-olds, stalwarts of the doubles scene, enjoyed a crowning moment as they rallied to beat American fourth seeds Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (6) 7-6 (1) [10-8] in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6359,"featured_media":19840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tennis.com.au\/wa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}