Australian Open 2024 - Indo-Australian pair Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden book FINAL spot

In the Australian Open 2024 semi-final showdown, the duo of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden faced off against Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic and Zhizhen Zhang of China. The Indo-Australian pair emerged victorious in a closely contested match, securing a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-7) win and advancing to their second consecutive Grand Slam final together. It is Bopanna's first Australian Open men's doubles final in his 17th attempt.

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After claiming the first set with a score of 6-3, the Indo-Australian pair faced a setback in the second set, trailing behind at 3-6. The third set unfolded as a series of tough games between the second-seeded Bopanna-Ebden and the unseeded pairing of Zhang and Machac, with the score tied at 6-6. 

The match proceeded to a 10-point tie-breaker, where the precision of the Indian man's serves played a crucial role, ultimately leading to a 10-7 victory for Bopanna and Ebden under the closed roof at the Rod Laver Arena.

Their previous clashes:

After a dominant 6-3, 6-1 victory in the quarter-finals against Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek, Tomas Machac and Zhang Zhizhen continued their stellar performance at the hard-court major. As for Rohan Bopanna and Ebden, they secured their place in the semi-finals by defeating Argentina's Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (5).

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Adding to his accolades, Rohan Bopanna achieved a historic milestone just before this match by becoming the oldest player to claim the World No. 1 rank in men's doubles. When the new rankings are released on Monday, the Indo-Australian pair is set to officially take the top spot in men's doubles.

The victory on the Rod Laver Arena also holds a special significance for Bopanna, especially following his loss in the mixed doubles final alongside Sania Mirza the previous year. That game had also marked Sania Mirza's final Grand Slam appearance. With this recent win alongside Matthew Ebden, Bopanna advanced to his third men's doubles final at a major tournament.

The first took place at the 2023 US Open when Bopanna, in partnership with Ebden, made history by becoming the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam final. Unfortunately, the duo faced defeat against Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. 

ROhan's second men's doubles final appearance was alongside Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. They were known as the Indo-Pak Express, in a memorable match against the Bryan brothers.