Indian tennis stalwart Rohan Bopanna and his Australian teammate Matthew Ebden secured their third men’s doubles semi-final berth by defeating Dutchman Sem Verbeek and Aussie John-Patrick Smith at the Miami Open. Despite facing numerous unforced errors in the first set, the duo clinched a gruelling quarterfinal with a score of 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.
This victory, crucial for the 44-year-old Bopanna, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, ensures his position in the ATP top-10 doubles ranking and guarantees direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in July-August. The cut-off date for rankings considered for direct Paris qualification is June 10.
Despite a less-than-dominant first and second-serve percentage, the top-seeded Bopanna-Ebden pair capitalized on crucial breaks in the second set, forcing the match into a tie-breaker which they eventually won.
Bopanna, who clinched his maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open this year, previously attained a career-high world No. 1 ranking but slipped to second after exits at the Dubai Championships and Indian Wells Masters.
In the upcoming semi-final, the Indo-Australian pair will face the winners of Marcel Granollers (Spain)/Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) and Lloyd Glasspool (UK)/Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands). Bopanna and Ebden reached the Adelaide Open semi-finals in January and the title round before succumbing to Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (UK). The American-British duo, however, fell short in the Miami Open quarterfinals, eliminating the possibility of a rematch in the semifinals.
