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Indian tennis veteran Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden's French Open 2024 journey came to an abrupt end on Thursday, June 6. The second-seeded pair fell short in the semi-final against the unfancied Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori (seeded 11th).
Disappointing End for Bopanna and Ebden at French Open
The match, played on Court Simonne-Mathieu, lasted nearly two hours (1 hour 58 minutes) and saw a rollercoaster of momentum shifts. Bopanna (44) and Ebden (36) started strong, claiming a break in the fourth game of the first set. However, the Italians fought back with two breaks of their own, ultimately securing the first set 7-5 in 48 minutes. The second set began with renewed hope for the Indo-Australian duo. They raced to a commanding 3-0 lead and held serve throughout, forcing a decider with another break in the eighth game. Unfortunately, the momentum swung in favor of the Italians in the final set. We'll have to wait for details on how the deciding set unfolded, but ultimately, Bopanna and Ebden were unable to overcome their opponents, falling short with a final score of 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
Injury Hinders Bopanna and Ebden's French Open Charge
Despite a strong showing from Rohan Bopanna, the Indo-Australian duo's French Open campaign was derailed by a seemingly ailing Matthew Ebden in the deciding set of their semi-final clash. Ebden, who had to take multiple medical timeouts throughout the match, struggled to maintain his peak performance. This vulnerability proved decisive, as the Italian pair capitalized by breaking Ebden's serve twice, securing their place in the final. The final score was 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. This setback comes after a hard-fought victory in the quarter-final against the Belgian team of Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille (seeded 10th), where Bopanna and Ebden prevailed in three sets. This wasn't Bopanna's first time reaching the French Open men's doubles semi-finals. In 2022, he and his Dutch partner Matwe Middelkoop made it to the top four but ultimately fell short against the eventual champions. While Bopanna's experience and skill remained evident, Ebden's physical limitations ultimately hindered their chances of reaching the final this year.
While Rohan Bopanna's French Open run in men's doubles ended in the semi-finals alongside Matthew Ebden, it wasn't his only appearance in the tournament. Bopanna, who already holds a French Open mixed doubles title from 2017 with Gabriela Dabrowski, fell short in this year's mixed doubles competition. He and his partner, Veronika Kudermetova, were eliminated in the first round. Despite the mixed doubles setback, Bopanna made history as the only Indian player to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros this year. His impressive run in men's doubles, alongside Ebden, ultimately ended due to Ebden's physical limitations in the semi-final match. Notably, N Sriram Balaji and his partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (Mexico) were defeated by the Bopanna-Ebden duo in the third round of men's doubles. Sumit Nagal, another Indian competitor, exited the tournament in the first round of men's singles.
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