India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden stormed into the final of the men’s doubles event in the ongoing US Open tournament on Thursday. The Indo-Aussie pair was remarkable in its approach in the semi-final clash as it registered a straight-set victory 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 over the French duo of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Playing at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, Bopanna and Ebden were stretched in the opening set by the French pair. However, as the first set went into a tie-break the Indo-Australian pair held its nerves and kept Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert at bay. The match went on for one hour and thirty-four minutes and the spectators at the venue were treated to some high-flying tennis action. India’s Bopanna will now feature in his second Grand Slam men’s doubles final.
The victory on Thursday helped Bopanna register a unique record and one that he can be extremely proud of as well. The 43-year-old Bopanna became the oldest player to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open era. He shattered the record previously held by Canada’s Daniel Nestor. Nestor was 43 years and four months old when he scripted the record and Bopanna has now surpassed him.
The final line-up has now been finalised as the Indo-Aussie pair will take on the American-English duo of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury. Ram and Salisbury got the better of Ivan Dodig of Croatia and America’s Austin Krajicek. Their semi-final clash stretched till three sets and Ram alongside Salisbury put up an impressive showing to win the match at the end 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 while playing at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. The match was nothing short of a thriller as it went on for two hours and fifteen minutes and players gave each other a run for their money.
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