Indian tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have moved into their third men’s doubles semifinal of the year at the Miami Open. They defeated Dutch player Sem Verbeek and Australian John-Patrick Smith in a tough quarterfinal match, winning 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.
Despite some mistakes in the first set, the top-seeded Bopanna-Ebden duo managed to turn the match around with key breaks in the second set, leading to a tie-breaker victory. This win is crucial for 44-year-old Bopanna, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.
It helps him maintain his position in the top 10 of the ATP doubles ranking, securing direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in July-August. The rankings’ deadline for Paris qualification is June 10.
Bopanna, who recently won the Australian Open, had reached the top spot in the rankings after the victory but has since dropped to second place following early exits in other tournaments.
In the semifinals, Bopanna and Ebden will face the winners of the match between Marcel Granollers (Spain)/Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) and Lloyd Glasspool (UK)/Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands).
Earlier this year, the Bopanna-Ebden pair reached the semifinals of the Adelaide Open and the finals before losing to Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (UK).
The American-British duo won’t be facing Bopanna and Ebden in the Miami Open semifinals after being defeated in the quarterfinals.
