The Indo-Australian pair will next face the sixth-seeded Argentine combination of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
Rohan Bopanna of India and Matthew Ebden of Australia advanced to the men’s doubles quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Monday after defeating Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Nikola Mektic of Croatia. The 43-year-old Bopanna and Ebden, who are seeded second in the draw, were broken early in both sets but showed they were up to the challenge with some outstanding returns against the 14th seeds.
The Indo-Australian pair will next face the sixth-seeded Argentine combination of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni. They are also the highest-seeded team still alive in the men’s doubles competition, and their victory on Monday was well-deserved against the world’s former top-ranked doubles pair. With this victory, Bopanna secured a career-high doubles ranking of No. 2.
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Bopanna’s serve let him down early on, as he was broken in the second game of the first set, with the 14th seeds taking a 3-0 lead within the first 15 minutes of play. However, the veteran Indian, who recently resigned from Davis Cup duty, was back in his element with a signature backhand down the lines and precise overhead lobs placed inches inside the baseline.
In the seventh game of the first set, Mektic and Koolhof produced some obvious unforced errors, allowing the Indo-Aussie duo to get a foot in the door. There was no turning back for them after that, as they maintained both nerve and serve. Bopanna was a livewire in the nets, and his anticipation earned his team half of the points with exquisite volleys in the alley between Koolhof and Mektic. The bisection was extremely exact, which caught the opponents off guard.
Bopanna similarly dropped his opening service game in the second set, with the Dutch-Croat combo leading 4-2 and displaying hints of a comeback that appeared to be on the way but was ultimately unsuccessful. Mektic’s first serve let their side down, with a success rate of only 55% compared to the winners’ 77 percent, despite conceding breaks in both games. Ebden didn’t drop a single game on his serve.
In the eighth game of the second set, Bopanna raised his game once more, forcing the opposition to commit errors, allowing them to re-enter the battle. Bopanna-Ebden raced to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker, and their opponents were always going to have a difficult time from there.
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