Bopanna-Ebden Advance to US Open Semis

Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden advanced to the men’s doubles semi-finals of the US Open 2023 tennis tournament in New York on Wednesday.

The Indo-Australian pair, seeded sixth in the competition, defeated the American duo of Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons 7-6 (12-10), 6-1 in a quarter-final match that lasted one hour and 30 minutes at the Flushing Meadows, as per Olympics.com.

The first set was a closely-fought affair with both Bopanna-Ebden and Jackson Withrow-Nathaniel Lammons not conceding an inch. After gruelling 12 games, Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden held their nerves and clinched the tie-breaker 12-10 and along with it, the opening set.

“Even though it was a little cloudy, the conditions here drain you. The first set was very crucial for us," Rohan Bopanna said as quoted by Olympics.com.

The second set was much easier for the Indo-Australian duo. Bopanna and Ebden dominated their American opponents to ensure a place in the final four.

Bopanna and Ebden will face the French pair of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a place in the final.

“We have a tough match coming up, Herbert and Mahut have won all the Grand Slams in the doubles,” Bopanna said. “They are very, very experienced and are playing some great tennis. But the way we are playing, we know we have a fantastic shot.”

The 43-year-old Bopanna and Ebden made their second consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals. The Indo-Australian pair had reached the last four of the men’s doubles at Wimbledon in July.

On Thursday, Rohan Bopanna will be bidding to enter his second US Open men’s doubles final. The Indian tennis player had made it to the final at New York in 2010 with Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Quresh but finished runners-up.

Earlier, Bopanna and his Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the mixed doubles on Monday.

Bopanna is the only remaining Indian challenger at the final Grand Slam of the season.